Shattered Past
by Devilish or Kittenish
Summary: A young woman decides to make a change in her life and join a guild. Maybe she could start over on life with this opportunity, but it turns out someone from her past had the same idea.
1. The First

A young woman in her late teens walked down the cobblestone streets of Magnolia. Unlike most people, she had walked in from the East woods. She obviously had traveled far on her own, her hair was slightly muddy with grass in it and her clothes were smudged by the same stuff. She wore a black cloak with silver lining that fell to her calves. The collar wrapped around her right shoulder and under her left, only a hole for her right arm. She had gray pants tucked into dark brown boots that traveled up to her knees.

A few people gave her looks due to her not being a familiar face in town, or maybe it was because of her bright emerald eyes that could turn someone into stone with just a glance, or the scowl that could never be erased off her face. Her dark brown, unkempt hair could play a part in these wary looks. It brushed over her shoulders, not having been washed with more than water and never brushed. It could even be the extremely well-traveled air about her.

The woman caught sight of a building still under construction. She heard of a guild here being recently attacked, maybe this was it? It was partially built, with several walls mostly done and most of a second floor in progress. It was going to be a very large building. Outside, there was a makeshift sign with a symbol on it. It was almost like a fairy with a tail shaped like half a heart. It was pretty.

She walked into the construction sight, examining the wizards busy at work. There were a lot of them, making a lot of noise.

"Can I help you?" A woman with long white hair and in a red and pink dress asked with a smile. She sat in the bar stool next to a board filled with requests suited for a wizard.

The woman in black walked up to the one in pink, resting her arm on the bar. "Actually, there is." She replied, her voice smooth and cold, "I heard there's a wizard guild called Fairy Tail here."

"This would be the place! We're still rebuilding, though, due to another guild." The white haired woman said in a high pitched voice. It hurt the ears of the other woman in darker colors.

She looked around, sizing up each wizard in the immediate area. "I would like to join. My name is Laura, since I assume knowing my name would be a requirement to joining."

"Well, it certainly helps to know who we're allowing in our guild." The woman in pink said, "I'll have you see the master so he can properly allow you in." She smiled brighter.

The guild master was a short old man who goes by the name Makarov. His white hair was balding on top with a thick mane of his hair remaining around the rest of his head and a thick mustache on his upper lip.

After receiving her guild mark on her arm, Laura immediately took a job from the request board. She had no need to learn the names of her guildmates. She needed money, for she was flat out broke. With the money she earned from her quick job, she bought some food and fresh undergarments with little to spare.

She would have to work the next few days in order to afford a place to stay, so now, Laura was on the hunt for a place to stay for the night. She didn't know anywhere or have any money.

Laura figured the town would be filled with people, and who knows what the townspeople would think when they saw a disheveled woman dressed in black napping in their alleyway. Instead, she traveled to the outer edges of town. The houses grew further apart, some still under the care of those living in them. They got further and further apart, each one barely close enough to be called neighbors. Most of them were well cared for.

Finally, Laura came across a house that seemed the furthest away from town it could be while still being close enough to get there.

The woman walked inside and began to check the house's condition. It looked deserted with a visible layer of dust over the creaky floorboards and remnants of wooden furniture. She could only imagine how many bugs lived in here. The only problem was light.

"Achoo!" Laura sniffed after sneezing. The dust would be a problem when trying to sleep. She'd have to clean out at least the room she'd sleep in to stay the night. After examining the rooms and making sure the oven won't burst in flames overnight due to it's horrible and unpredictable conditions, the woman decided this abandoned house would be decent.

She looked into the bathroom upstairs; Covered in just as much dust as everything else, but nothing severely damaged. She turned the knob to the bathtub. The water spewed out, splashing her in the face. It surprisingly came out as clean, fresh water. Laura hurried downstairs to take a towel left on the kitchen countertop and hurried back up to scrub the dust and dirt in the tub. It wouldn't be perfectly clean and shiny, but it would be clean enough that Laura could wash the dirt and grime off herself.

While soaking in the tub, Laura stared out the window. The sun was setting. Even though she couldn't see the star itself, she could see the oranges and purples it created in the sky.

The window faced the backyard, which was fenced in despite the house being so far away from everything. The fence was worn down. It would be best just to get rid of it, but she would only bother if she planned on staying here. This place was only temporary shelter until she worked enough jobs to buy an apartment of her own.

Well… this place offered free plumbing, and even if the lights were broken, that's nothing candles wouldn't fix. Maybe if Laura put some work into this house, it would become her little secret.

She doubted any realtors would be trying to sell this place, that's if they even remembered this place. The fact that it's so run down and dirty most likely means no one was trying to get this place off their hands. The previous owners probably had their own grandchildren in another town.

Day one done a little quicker than expected. Laura got into the wizarding guild: Fairy Tail, she earned her first paycheck, and found herself a place to live. This was probably going to be the most comfortable and easy part of her life ever. Not even the dust was that bad.

She climbed out of the tub and dried off with a cleaner towel than the one she had used to clean the tub with. She put on the new clothes she had bought today. A comfy shirt, sweatpants, clean undergarments and slippers. She put her boots back on until she had a room clean enough to sleep in.

With a sigh, she grabbed the dirty towel she had used to clean the tub. It was still wet, so it would clean the dust really well.

Laura moved her stuff into a bedroom, on with a cleaner futon in it. The futon was probably crawling with bugs, but less than others. So she would sleep on the floor in here. Surprisingly, there wasn't that much dust in this room. Probably because the door and window were closed and everything had dust covers on.

The woman quickly wiped the dust out of a corner, making plenty of clean floorspace for her to sleep on with a spot for her stuff. Before she laid down, she returned to the bathroom and rinsed the towel off and hung it up. It would serve her well in the future. She returned to the room she had chosen and curled up in front of her stuff.

After several deep breaths, her breathing settled into a rhythm and she drifted off. Her scowl had lessened since she found this house. Now, it faded to neutral.

**A/N: **Hi! Author here! So, this story is an alternate point of view of another story I'm writing. Me and my best friend are both writing these stories. I'll just post them both here for simplicity. If you want to go read my other story, it's called the Shadows in My Heart. I hope you enjoy both of these! If you do, leave a review.


	2. The Second

Laura slipped into the guild hall behind some other people. It wasn't hard to stay unnoticed in such a large guild. Most of the members were yelling loudly and having fun. There were probably some people not even part of the guild, like a five year old playing with a group of kids his age.

Laura stopped in front of the request board and addressed the woman she had spoken to yesterday. "What jobs are there?"

"There are a few you can go on right now. Most of them were done by Lyla before she left." The woman contemplated a book in front of her. "Oh! I know. You can do this one." She handed her a flier.

"This is seriously a job?" The young woman asked skeptically. It was for someone to come and talk to them for a little bit. The reward was pretty good too. "It's stupid."

"I can give you a different one." She handed her another. This one was for tracking a vulcan in the woods. It said not to engage it in battle. "It's recommended you have a partner at the very least."

"I don't need one." She tucked the flier into her pocket. "I'll take it."

"I'll inform the master and write it down then. Be careful." The woman cheered.

"Whatever." The newest member walked away.

"By the way, my name is Mirajane." The high-pitched voice easily cut over the chatter. "I forgot to introduce myself yesterday."

Laura ignored her and walked out the door. At least she had a name for a face now.

"Why are people so stupid?" Laura grumbled to herself. This job hadn't seemed so bad until the person who requested told her that the entire thing was so his kid could have _a single. Stupid._ _Toy!_ Ridiculous! This man was rich if the reward on the quest and his home were anything to go by, why didn't he replace the toy?

"Why?" She muttered aloud. "Because that toy is the one his spoiled brat wants!"

The vulcan was even stupider. She had found his unattended lair so easily. All that was left was to go retrieve the toy and be done.

In the quiet forest, she could hear everything. It was a nice change from the loud city. That guild was even louder. Laura strolled into the silent lair and began to search through piles of dusty, stolen stuff that the petty ape had collected.

"Aha!" She exclaimed when she found it. She dusted it off and tucked it into the velvet lined bag that the man had given to her for it. "Dumb ape," she muttered and began to walk out.

In the distance, heavy footsteps accompanied by the crunch of greenery echoed. The woman stretched right outside the door and waited. She felt like doing something interesting since she had some time to kill today. The ape wouldn't get to her for another couple of minutes, so she stretched every muscle in her body.

Laura had finished stretching a minute ago when the Vulcan came into view. "Pretty lady!" The green and purple ape exclaimed in shock. "What pretty lady waiting for?"

A lazy smirk danced across her face. "To play around. I'm bored." She answered.

"I make you wife if you bored." The dumb animal began to leap for her.

The woman stepped out of the way so that he crashed into his lair. "I'd rather a much more faithful husband than a dumb ape. Besides, when was the last time you looked in the mirror?" She insulted. "And you smell like a piece of shit"

"Wife not insult hubby! That mean!" The upset monster climbed out of his lair. "You should be nicer."

"Gorians are so easy to provoke." The young woman rolled her eyes and sighed. At least this was more entertaining than cleaning. "Primates should be talking. You are just a freak," she taunted. The beast charged at her and tried to punch her.

"I no make you wife. I crush you now!" The enraged monster yelled as he began to attack wildly.

The woman continued to taunt him and use her superior speed to dodge all his attacks. Eventually, the Gorian exhausted himself and fell asleep. Laura scoffed.

"You are a boring piece of shit!" She kicked the sleeping monsters head and stomped away. The thing's snores reverberated through the forest. "And you're far too noisy!"

It had only been a couple of hours since she had accepted the job and the dumb beast had passed out while she played around.

Irately, she handed the toy over to the wealthy man who had set up the job. She accepted the payment and began to make her way back to the guild just as angrily.

Most people avoided her since she looked a little crazy with her wild hair and ratty clothes, but some were just idiots. Today was the day one of those idiots decided to strike.

"Are you ok, lady?" A clean young man asked her. "Cause if you aren't, I can help you." The man was standing in front of her when she was obviously angry and dangerous.

"Oh, sure! I'm a fucking damsel in distress and not some random wizard you're bothering." Laura bit sarcastically. "Go fuck yourself and get your head out of your bloody damn ass, motherfucker." She scowled at him.

"Chill, I'm just trying to be helpful!" The man at least had the sense to back off. They were in the middle of the marketplace, so if a fight broke out, someone would have to pay or go to jail. Laura was obviously not going to pay for shit and jail didn't look like a good idea. Nobody wanted to mess with the Magic Council either.

"Well, take your helpfulness and sunshine to some other bullshit idiot. I'm busy!" She stomped over to one of the vendors. He was selling clothes. She glared at his selection for several minutes before walking away with an outfit that resembled her current one, only cleaner and undamaged.

The young brunette woman gathered soaps for herself and for cleaning as well as a new pillow before she began to walk towards the edge of town. Mutters filled the marketplace about how all these strange wizards came to town.

"This one seems like bad news." A man said.

"Give her a chance. That masked kid is really sweet and she seemed like bad news." A woman scolded.

"The other new one is from Phantom Guild. He shouldn't be here. What if she's from there too?"

"No, she is from farther away. I've got a good feeling about her."

"I've got a terrible feeling about her."

The gossipers were quickly drowned out by the business carried on around them. The other sounds of the town -polite chatter, footsteps, rustling cloth- were all much more pleasant to hear. Not as pleasant as silence, but better than gossip.

"I hate stupid people like that." Laura grumbled to herself as the building thinned out along with people. The best thing about the house was no one was close enough that she could hear them.

The dusty house was the most pleasing thing to listen to. It was a peaceful quiet. Not quite a silence, but a quiet zone with no awful people ruining it. "Or monsters," she muttered aloud as she dropped the stuff she had bought with the rest of her stuff. Laura stared at the cleaning stuff with a frown.

"Should I go back to the guild and get another job or something?" She mused aloud. Nobody would be bothered by her voice echoing but her now. "Or should I clean?" Her frown deepened as she argued each point aloud.

"It's loud at the guild."

"It's boring here."

"You can't enjoy the peaceful house."

"You can get stronger at the guild."

"Shut the fuck up! I'm going to the guild so I quit this nonsense!" She yelled at herself and began the trek to the guildhall.

When she entered, it was even rowdier than this morning. More building was happening, but more people were also drinking.

"Hi, Laura." Mirajane greeted when the woman sat down at the bar. "How was the job?"

Laura grunted a non-answer and stared at the request board. None of the jobs were in town or close by!

"If a new job around here pops up, I'll save it for you." The bartender offered sweetly.

"That'd be great." Laura answered reluctantly after a minute of awkward internal debate.

The woman behind the bar just smiled and said, "Okie-dokie! I'll make sure to do that. I do that for all our new guildmates of course, but some don't want me to do that. I'm glad you do. One of our newer wizards didn't need me to do that despite them being totally broke. And she did it without a team." The woman continued to inanely chatter at Laura, who only paid attention for information.

Eventually, she got tired of it and ordered something to eat. Two birds with one stone. She needed food and her ears needed a break from the high-pitched, non-stop chattering.

"Here's your food. I hope you enjoy." The happy woman dropped a plate in front of the scowling one. "Sorry if I talked too much. I'm just excited about all the new powerful members we keep getting. Enjoy your meal." She walked off to do something else.

"Finally." Laura grumbled and began to eat. She'd go back to the house after this since it was getting late. All these trips back and forth really helped her get the layout of the the town. It was a very clean town to live in at least.


	3. The Third

Laura got back to the house in the late evening. The sun was hovering low in the sky and casting deep shadows over the city.

There was some cleaning supplies still useful on the bottom floor. If she decided to stay here, she might clean the first floor, but right now she just wanted to clean herself. It wouldn't hurt to get rid of the sticky cobwebs, though.

Afterwards, she took the supplies up the stairs and rested them against the wall beside the bathroom. She took the mop and bucket, filled the bucket with soapy water, and began mopping the tile floor.

While cleaning, she glanced at the mirror, then took a double take to examine herself. Her eyes were tires and her hair was a mess. Maybe she should get a haircut. It's too much work to take care of hair, especially when you're broke.

She heard the front door open below followed by the giggling of a girl. Laura dropped the mop, turned off the lights, and hid on the ceiling above the doorway.

The girl emerged from the shadows of the wall outside using magic, then slid through the door. The girl tiptoed to the center.

Laura could either let the girl leave, or ambush her. Her arms started to tremble. They had some muscular build to them, but her hands got wet from handling the mop. She could eventually sneak out, but this time there was someone else downstairs. Laura could hear their breathing.

_Crap…_

Gravity taking hold, Laura dropped down and wrapped her hand over the girl's mouth, which was covered in a cloth mask.

"Mph!" The girl had surprisingly incredible strength, easily bending over and flipping Laura onto the ground.

"Gah!" She grunted in pain.

"Sorren!" The girl called. Laura would have to use her magic if there were two wizards. Maybe she could slip away somewhere.

Laura swung to punch the girl, but she dodged. The sound of a man's boots thudding on the stairs alarmed her.

She took the girl by the hands and spun her in circles, letting go so she flew into the man and knocking both of them into the ground.

Slipping from the recently mopped floor, she scrambled out the bathroom and bolted down the staircase.

"After her! She's getting away!" The girl shouted behind her.

Laura's hand could touch the light coming from the wide open door, but the girl jumped on top of her. With a growl, Laura used the girl's weight to tip her over and sit on top of her, then wrapped her hands around her neck to choke her.

"Fuck you!" The girl gasped, clutching her hand on Laura.

"Lyla!" The man shouted.

_Lyla…? _Her eyes widened in shock and her hands recoiled. Was this girl Lyl- "Augh!" Laura grunted in pain when the girl kicked her in the stomach. She flew back into the man, who pinned her arms together so she couldn't hit them.

"Let go of me, you bitch!" She shouted

"Great, another foul mouth..." The man mumbled sarcastically.

"Would you rather get cursed at or beaten up?" The girl asked asked in an aggravated tone.

"Let's tie her up and turn her into authorities. A few years in jail definitely changes a person."

"No!" Laura shrieked, "I've been in prison before!" She closed her eyes to fight back the tears and haunting memories.

"Then you know how horrible it is." The girl held her hand to Laura's face. It glowed with purple and black shadow magic.

She stared at the magic, then at the girl. "Shadow Magic?"

"What of it?" The girl bit.

"Well, I've seen shadow magic users. It doesn't look like that."

"What do you mean?"

"Lyla, I don't think we should be wasting time questioning-"

"Shush." The girl turned back to Laura after shushing the man.

It was best to act cool then freak out. It's easier for her to take control of the situation."So, you're Lyla?" Laura asked.

"None of your business."

"Got a last name?"

"Keep asking questions and the only answer will be my fist to your face!" The irate girl snapped.

Laura kept quiet, examining the girl's face. She recognized that voice. Though it had changed, the tone and pronunciation was familiar. "Why cover your right eye? Are you blind in that eye or just emo?"

"Rrgh…!"

"Lyla!" The man scolded. "Just go get the authorities. I can manage keeping this burglar from escaping."

_Yeah right._

"For the record, I didn't burgal anything. There's nothing to steal. I thought this place was abandoned. Looks like it hasn't been cleaned in decades." Laura stood up straight, speaking in a casual tone. It's not like she was lying.

"Well, I bought it about a week ago. We left on a trip so I didn't have time to clean this place up." The girl explained, still angry.

"Can't blame a woman for just trying to find a place to stay."

The man released Laura and stepped back. She relaxed and stretched her arms. He had a tight grip.

"What the fuck is wrong with y-"

"Look behind her ear." He said.

"What-"

"Her ear. Just look."

Laura rubbed where he said to check. The girl roughly pulled her hair out of the way and bent her ear. Looks like they found her Fairy Tail guild mark along her jawline.

"God dammit…" The girl cursed under her breath. "First Gajeel and now this bitch."

Laura didn't recognize that name, but it sounded like he didn't have a good reputation with the guild.

"I guess you're Fairy Tail wizards, too." She said, chuckling at the irony of the situation.

"Name. First and last." The girl ordered.

"Laura Ragstone. Yours?"

"That's Sorren Colander and I'm Lyla." She pointed at the man.

"No last name?"

She shook her head.

Laura crossed her arms, tilting her head and smirking. "Well, I didn't give you a last name when we were children."

"Would've appreciated it, though."

"Didn't need to. You kept calling yourself Lyla Ragstone."

A few seconds of silence fell, then broke with excitement squeals from both girls. They embraced in a tight and warm hug.

"My god, girl! You look so different!" Lyla exclaimed. Lyla wore a skintight black shirt with a collar that traveled up her neck. She had a black mask that she lowered during their hug. Purple metal soled boots and tight black stockings that covered what her dark denim shorts didn't. Her strawberry caramel hair was medium length with bangs covering her right eye, but her brown eye was big and brown.

"You grew so tall! And you let your hair grow out!" Laura replied. She held her hand to the top of her head, comparing heights. "I'm still taller, though."

Lyla growled -yet smiled- in response.

"Woah, woah, woah. Hang on." The man named Sorren said in a confused tone, "You two know each other?"

"Well, if you don't count basically growing up together, no we don't know each other." Lyla snarked.

"But you… huh?"

"We were orphans together and we got seperated years ago." Laura explained. Not a lie, just restraining the truth a bit.

"By the way, you are _so_ lucky I'm still tired! I could have seriously hurt you!" Lyla changed the subject. "You should have been more careful."

"Yeah, well, I'm fine. What the hell happened to _you_ all these years?" Laura gently punched the other young woman's shoulder. The smaller teen shot a look at Sorren.

"Well, recently, I was basically kidnapped and brought to Akane resort."

Lyla explained everything with Sorren's help here and there. They had to save one of their guildmates from a guild called Phantom Lord attacking them, which is where the Gajeel guy mentioned before came from after the guild split. Lyla met Sorren during the reconstruction of the guild. That meant Laura must have joined just after they left on a supposed-to-be vacation at Akane Resort. Instead, they ran into the R System/Tower of Heaven. It went by both names. Lyla talked about some of the guildmates, who sounded insane with just the description.

"This guild is crazy, but far sweeter than what I used to do. I like it here and I think you'll enjoy it."

"It sounds like an interesting experience. I'll definitely get stronger here." Laura said, clenching her fist.

"If you can handle the constant mushy stuff in between."

Sorren poked at Lyla and missed. "You mean like what you always disappear for?" He asked.

"Hush. I don't deal well with it and you know that." She flicked his forehead. "And quit. I'll always win this."

"You seem to have made some good friends. Or even something more?" Laura teased jokingly. It didn't mean anything to her, but joking about it distracter her from the idea of it might being true.

Lyla reacted dramatically. "My god! I keep telling people! Sorren is like a drunk Dust Bunny! He's more like a brother to me than anything else."

"Hey! I'm not a bunny." Sorren muttered and pouted. "Besides, I bet I'm older than you both."

"Um… how old are you?" Laura asked awkwardly. She can barely remember the last time she had a friendly conversation with anyone other than Lyla.

"I'm twenty. How old are you?"

"She's eighteen." Lyla answered. "You're older than us, but far less mature, bunny. So hush."

"How come you know exactly how old she is? You don't know how old you are." Sorren asked. "You guys haven't seen each other in years."

"Um…" Words fled the young woman.

"She was orphaned from birth. I wasn't. Plus, she's smart. She always remembered my birthday when we were together." Laura jumped in, "To make her happy, I just said she could be a year younger than me.

"Yeah." Lyla picked at her mask. "You're still doing it."

"Sorry. It's just something that I got used to doing." Their eyes met and they seemed to be speaking silently.

Sorren shifted and a floorboard creaked, causing both teen's eyes to immediately fall on him. "Um… I'm feeling a little left out."

"Sorry, Bunny. I didn't mean to do that. Anyway, let's get to work." Lyla moved towards the door.

"I'm not a bunny! Quit calling me that!" The man followed her.

"Why are you calling him bunny?" Laura asked as she followed. These inside jokes and comments made her feel a little left out herself. "And what are you guys doing?"

"Cleaning." Lyla answered as she picked up some of the cleaning supplies. "I told you about how he got absolutely covered in dust before the trip, right?"

"Oh." Laura said softly.

"Sorry. Let's clean up so it's at least safe for us to sleep here tonight."

"We?" Sorren asked as he began to gather cleaning stuff.

"Me and Laura. She wouldn't be here if she didn't need a place to stay and I'm not going to kick her out."

"You mean I can stay here?"

"If you clean. Sorren's just helping out because he's an awesome friend. He actually helped me find and buy this place."

"Isn't that sweet." Laura took a broom, walking to her own corner to clean. "Just make sure there aren't any kids running around too soon."

She heard Lyla growl.

"Bitch, he's like a _brother_ to me!"

Laura flipped her off.

Yelling a battle cry, Lyla swung her broom. Laura blocked with her's. They began broom-fighting, kicking up dust and causing coughing fits everywhere. Lyla was safe because she pulled her mask up.

"Okay, how about we actually do some work and not fill each other's lunges with dust?" Sorren suggested after coughing. He lowered both girls' brooms.

"Tch. Fine." Laura scoffed, starting to actually sweep. Lyla did the same.

Sorren began to open windows up. Probably for fresh air to keep from choking on the dust floating around.

"By the way, you can borrow a mask if you'd like, Laura," Lyla offered quietly, almost meekly.

"No. I'm good."

A tense quiet settled over the three of them as they cleaned. It didn't take as long as it could have and the room was quickly cleaned. They continued to clean a couple other rooms before Sorren stopped.

"Good night, Sorren." Lyla told her friend as she continued to clean. "Stay safe."

"I will. Night." He called back before leaving.

"So… where do you want to sleep?" The smaller teen turned to Laura.

"I already cleaned the room I slept in. I think I'll just turn in for the night." Laura stretched and put away her cleaning stuff.

"All right." The girl pulled her mask down. "I'll be around." She began to walk away.

"By any chance, would you happen to be the 'kid that looks like bad news' the townspeople were talking about?" Laura called after her friend's retreating back.

"Yeah. I'm the trouble-looking kid. They think I'm really sweet." She turned back with a sad smile. "It's probably because Sorren dragged me all over to show me things. It was fun, but..." She shrugged. "I'll never see things the same way as others."

"Yeah. I can understand that to a degree." Laura shrugged back. "We'll have to tell each other what really happened all these years sometime."

"Not tonight. Unpleasant memories aren't something I want to talk about." The girl sighed and her shoulders drooped. "I just hope whatever happened to you gave you more happiness."

"The Magic Council wasn't so nice to you then?"

"Just know that I'm sorry." The smaller girl began to walk away again. "Go ahead and get cleaned up. I'll be around here."

"Nothing was easy for us, was it?" Laura asked herself before shaking her head. It was time to go get the dust off of her clothes.


	4. The Fourth

Laura woke up. She slept easier with the pillow Lyla had given her for the night. Sitting up, she looked around to see her friend was gone. She stood up and stumbled her way down the stairs. Even though this house was bare and broken, Lyla insisted they slept here for the night. Apparently, she lived with a girl named Lucy, but didn't think it would be a good idea for a second person to visit for a sleepover. The girl was right, though. Laura wasn't exactly a people person.

"Good morning." Lyla greeted when she saw her.

"Morning." Laura yawned, "Why are you up so early?"

"Hungry. I stop by the bakery one my way to the guild almost every morning. Decided to wait on you."

Laura looked at her night clothes -A baggy t-shirt and soft night pants, then at Lyla. She had already dressed and wore a leather satchel over her shoulder. Her friend looked normal, but she detected an underlying exhaustion.

The woman shrugged. She doesn't sleep so well herself, usually. "Why are you wearing metal gloves?" She asked tiredly.

"Packs a punch. I can use it as an easily concealable weapon, too." Lyla clanked the metal parts of her gloves together.

"I guess that's useful. You have a hard punch with or without it, though."

The younger girl's eyes rolled in response. "Just go get dressed. I want to get to the guild before the hissy fit queens get there."

"Queens of hissy fits?"

"Natsu and Gray. I'll introduce them to you soon enough."

Laura silently meandered upstairs and got dressed. She didn't bother brushing her hair, it was too tangled to deal with.

Afterwards, they headed out and walked down the streets of Magnolia.

You've gotten quieter." Laura commented.

"You too." Lyla picked up her pace. Laura, too. The streets were beginning to fill with more people, and more noise.

"Busier than usual." Lyla muttered.

"What do you mean by that?"

She glanced over her shoulder, "I like it when it's empty, so I leave early. With the Fantasia Parade soon, Magnolia is going to get busier."

"Fantasia?"

"It's a parade our guild does annually. Everyone has their own roles." Lyla fidgeted with her bangs as she continued, "Since you just joined, you might just be getting a small job."

"I'm fine with that. I don't suggest driving the floats if we have those."

Lyla darted towards a stall as they approached the market place. With an exasperated huff, Laura followed without any rush.

The younger teen started complaining about the prices of the lacrima the guy was selling.

"I said it's fifty thousand jewel. A standard price for that size." The shopkeeper scowled.

"Rip off." Lyla held up the palm-sized lacrima, "It's barely worth a thousand! One use and it'll shatter."

"L-liar!"

Laura chuckled devilishly as she watch Lyla expose the shopkeeper. She didn't know the girl had so much knowledge on this stuff.

The girl managed to get a "buy 1 get one free" deal by threatening to report this to the Magical Council. What a bluff. There's too many dark guilds and magical criminals to worry about to bother with this, but they might listen to her.

"Impressive." Laura said as Lyla walked away, stowing her two lacrima in her satchel.

"Living here, I thought you left the council. You're still on good terms?"

"Yajima. I'm on good terms with him. The rest just tolerate me. And yes, I did technically leave, but I still work for them."

Laura paused to soak up what her friend said. She shrugged and tilted her head in response. It made sense to her.

Lyla entered a bakery, holding the door open. "This place is the best."

Walking inside, Laura walked up to the cash register ahead of her and admired the selection of sweets displayed.

"Lyla! You're late!" The man from yesterday, Sorren, called from a table in the corner next to the windows.

"Go order something, Laura. Keep whatever change is left." Lyla said, handing her friend some money.

Laura thanked her and looked at all the sweets. It was breakfast, so it'd be smart not to have something with too much sugar. Maybe she could just get doughnuts like the ones on Sorren's table? She found them boring, though.

"Get me two blackberry muffins." Laura ordered. The baker gladly placed two muffins on a glass plate. She left a tip on the counter, insisting he kept it. She felt guilty walking into any bakery.

Sitting down to eat beside Lyla, Laura silently enjoyed her muffin while listening to Sorren and her friend. She didn't make any expressions, though.

The three wizards walked out the bakery and made their way to the guild.

"Actually, you two go an. I got something important to do. Don't wait for me! I'll catch up." Lyla said, walking the opposite direction.

"Calling the Council?" Sorren asked.

Lyla nodded, then glanced at Laura. Alright, alright! I'll try to be nice. Laura thought. It's been years, but they still knew each other pretty well.

Sorren and Laura went one way while Lyla went the other.

The two strangers didn't say anything. Laura tried learning more about him by listening. His heartbeat quickened a few beats. He was nervous.

Sorren wore a golden cloak that fell to his calves with one sleeve falling to his elbow and the other nonexistent. Underneath, he had a snug, sleeveless night blue shirt with the collar loosening as it traveled up his neck. It tucked into grey pants with a thick black belt loosely fitted around his waist. The belt was more for show than anything.

Laura didn't like his messy light brown hair and pale blue eyes. The sound of his heavy brown boots clomping on the street annoyed her.

"So you and Lyla have history?" The friendly man asked.

"Yeah."

Silence followed.

"W-what kind of magic do you use?"

"This concerns you how?" Laura stared ahead.

"Well, you're part of the family now, so we should get to know each other."

She scoffed, "The only person I consider family is Lyla. I'm only walking with you because she wants me to."

Sorren slowed down to a stop while Laura kept walking. "Cheery…" He grumbled sarcastically, then caught up to the woman.

Laura flinched, which made Sorren raise an eyebrow.

"Cold?" He asked.

"I'm fine."

Sorren rose his hands in surrender.

Lyla caught up to them using her Shadow Shift. It spooked Sorren, but Laura was unphased. She'd seen the girl use that trick too many times.

They entered the guild hall. Lyla walked up to Mirajane, greeting her.

After unnecessarily introducing Laura to the white haired girl, Lyla brought her outside in the back of the guild. She never bothered exploring any further than the job board, so she didn't know there was a whole pool back here.

"Stay here." Lyla said, then rushed off. Laura watched her snatch a muscular man with spiky pink hair wearing a white muffler from a fight going down in the pool. The fight broke up quickly with her presence.

"Agh, Lyla! You're choking me!" The man's high pitched voice yelled as the girl dragged him by the scarf.

"Laura, barbeque. Barbeque, Laura. He also goes by Natsu, Salamander, flame brain, and countless others."

"I'm just going to assume his real name is Natsu."

"Fight me!" The pinkette demanded. Laura would've given him a swift punch in the nose if Lyla didn't do it first.

"Go be a nice Salamander and get Erza some cake. And stop trying to fight every new guild member!" She yelled at him as he tumbled away.

"I see you're quite the mother figure."

"Sometimes I can be, in a way. Other times, the guild has to take care of me." Lyla smirked and stood proudly, "I'm a free spirit, you see. I do what I please without a care! Some fear me, some tolerate me, some regret ever meeting me."

"Tch." Laura smirked at the amusing teenager. Lyla brought her to a blonde girl with big brown eyes that sunbathed beside the pool.

"Hi! You must be that new wizard Master Makarov mentioned before. I thought it was only Juvia and Gajeel." The girl said, sitting up from her chair. "I'm Lucy."

"Laura." The woman scowled as she shook hands. She seemed like the rich kind of girl.

"Let's go see Levy." Lyla dragged her friend away back inside and to a petite and small girl with short blue hair.

Both girls dodged a chair and some plates of half eaten food.

"Gajeel!" Lyla hissed at the large man in black clothes and long black hair. "Laura, meet Levy. You two go talk while I have a little chat myself."

The small girl skittered off. For the sole reason of it being Lyla's request, Laura followed the girl to a table on the other end of the room.

"I'm Laura. I guess you're Levy?"

She nodded, still shivering. Her heart raced in fear.

Dammit, Lyla…

"Calm down. Knowing Lyla, that guy will eat dirt within the next minute or so."

"...I don't want him to get hurt." Levy mumbled, "I'm just on edge from how we first met. It wasn't on the nicest of terms."

Laura rested her head on her hand. "Hobbies?"

"Hm?"

"Any interests?"

Laura half listened to Levy talk about reading and learning about types of magic, while also listening to the conversation Lyla had with Gajeel.

She threatened to hurt him if he kept scaring Levy. He shouldn't underestimate the girl, but Laura didn't know the magical power of that Gajeel guy.

Lyla came back, telling her to take a job if she wanted. Laura gladly did so, but 'barbecue' came running towards her. A second before his fist of fire magic came in contact with her face, Laura held out her hand so his face ran into it.

He recoiled, holding his nose while Laura acted as if nothing happened.

"If you want to fight me, learn to be quiet. I can even hear your breathing a mile away." The woman took a job off the board and handed it to Mirajane.

"That hurt! Dammit!" Natsu exclaimed in pain.

"That's what a punch is suppose to do." Laura headed for the exit to head out on her job. It shouldn't take long considering it was just on the outskirts of Magnolia.

She stopped and stared at a muscular young man with short black hair and dark blue eyes. He was drinking some booze a table next to a young woman with scarlet hair, who leaned against the nearby wall.

The man wore no shirt. When he stood up after noticing Laura, she saw he only wore underwear.

This guy is definitely a creep.

"You're the new wizard we've been hearing about?" The man asked, walking up to her.

"Gray, put on some pants." The redhead told him. The man, Gray, jumped when he realized he was half naked.

"I'm Erza Scarlet. Welcome to Fairy Tail."

"Laura. I'm just leaving on a job." She didn't want to talk to these people, but she'd be seeing them afterwards if she wanted to come in and take another job. Best not to anger coworkers.

"I see. Well good luck."

"Gray Fullbuster." The man came back, wearing pants and boots at the least.

"Excuse me?" Laura asked in confusion.

"My name. It's Gray Fullbuster." He held his hand out. Laura looked at it, then cautiously shook it.

"Laura Ragstone…" She let go, "I'll be leaving now." Laura walked out the guild hall.

_

A young teenager with long black hair sat in a table at the corner of the guild hall. Everyone was so much older than her, and they all looked scary, but this was the closest she had to home.

The girl played with her magic, creating a soft light and trying to manipulate the sound to create song.

"What are you doing, child?" A large man with black hair and a large scar over his forehead.

The girl flinched at the sight and sound of him. He kneeled down, admiring her magic.

"Quite a pretty song. Did you make it yourself?"

The girl nervously shook her head. "My mother sang it to me."

He smiled. "Where is she?"

The girl remained silent.

"I'm sorry… It should have been an obvious answer since you're in this sickening piece of agriculture."

"It's okay. It's not your fault…" The girl said, "This place will just have to be my new home. It's been a while since I had one." She continued playing with the soft sound around her.

"Now, I can't revive your mother, sadly," The man stood up, holding out his hand, "but I can watch over you in her place."

The girl looked at his hand, then cautiously took it. For the first time in years, she smiled brightly.


	5. The Fifth

Laura entered the guild after recently finishing a job. She wanted to look for Lyla, but was met with drunk wizards crowded around the bar, chanting "Chug! Chug! Chug!" To two guildmates chugging down booze.

She rolled her eyes and hurried upstairs where it was quieter, cupping her aching ears.

She came to the top of the steps, scanning the darker spot of the area for her friend, who liked to hide in the shadows.

"I'm over here." She heard the younger woman say. Laura saw Lyla hiding in the rafters.

"I was starting to think you went back to the house. How'd I miss you?" She asked as she walked over.

"I felt like resting. Don't worry about the rest of it." She smirked.

"That was horrible…" Laura sighed. She sat at a small table set aside against the wall. Lyla got off the rafters and sat with her.

"Why you came looking for me? I thought the mess downstairs would scare you off."

"Just felt like finding you."

"Kinda failed at that. I can be stealthy." She picked the edge of her mask, "How're you handling the guild and all?

"Fine." Laura didn't like too many people, especially with how loud this guild could be.

After some lazy silence, Lyla chuckled, "Well, you probably should go home and sleep. I'll get back after getting a drunk Dust Bunny back to his house."

She stood up. "Alright. I'll see you then. I don't think that idiot will stop anytime soon."

"He drinks almost as much as Cana, I doubt he will."

"Yeah, sure." Laura casually jumped over the railing and landed onto the first floor. She walked past the drunk wizards and outside the guild, returning to the house.

It was a work in progress. They finished cleaning, now they had to furnish each room, which would take a while. Sure, they have some decent paying jobs every now and then, but they had to pay taxes along with food money.

Laura walked in the house and let the door shut as she walked into the kitchen. Lyla left the newspaper on the counter. The headline had a picture of a road in Magnolia leading straight to Fairy Tail.

She took an apple left in a bowl on another counter top. Lyla bought six, Laura might have borrowed one and needed to get rid of the evidence. Old habits die hard.

After eating, she took a nap on the cheap couch they bought. They'd save up for a better one sometime later.

"Hey."

Laura squirmed when she heard the sound of a certain teenager.

"Hey. Hey. Wake up." Lyla kept poking her cheek. The woman lazily swatted her hand away.

"I am awake, just resting my eyes."

"Well, it's almost night. Wanna become nocturnal?"

Laura swung her fist at the girl. She phased into the shadow of the couch.

"Dammit."

"Get up on your feet, bitch!" Lyla stuck her tongue out. She laughed maniacally when Laura jumped up and chased her around the kitchen. "Can't catch this shadow wizard!" She phased into the shadows in the room, but Laura could hear her giggles traveling upstairs. She followed them to a window. Looking over, she saw that Lyla had leapt down and was running back towards town.

"This bitch... I swear." She sighed under breath and leapt over the windowsill, catching up to the girl.

"Glad you could make it." Lyla said as they walked down the road, acting as if nothing happened.

"So what are we doing out here? I wouldn't mind going back to sleep."

"I realized I never gave you a proper tour around town, so why not now?"

"I know how to get to the guild and market on my own. What else do I need to know?" Laura stubbornly crossed her arms.

"Well, you've been complaining about your hair. I'll get you a haircut after the tour."

"Tch. I can find it myself."

"But I won't be paying for you."

"W-we share the same money!" Laura stomped off, slightly embarrassed. Lyla giggled behind her.

"So is that a 'no'?"

"Come on! We're going!"

Lyla took her around town, introducing her to some townspeople she knew and -totally not on purpose- taking Laura to some of their guildmate's houses.

She showed her the Strauss' place and stopped by Lucy's place. She took Laura to the girls dorms that Fairy Tail had only for the female population of Fairy Tail wizards. They met Levy, Juvia, Erza, Bisca, and Laki. They crossed paths with Evergreen: a member of Laxus' thunder Legion, but kept away. Laura didn't know why, but she new Lyla wasn't fond of her.

Laura grew exhausted from so many people today. She finally got Lyla to take her to the hair salon and get a haircut. It was getting long and difficult to manage. She hated that it got tangled so easily and, on top of it all, the ends were splitting.

"Just one more place, okay?" Lyla begged Laura.

She couldn't resist the adorableness of it, despite what people thought of her. "Fine. So long as we can home immediately after." She sighed.

"Yay! Come on!" The childlike air surrounding the shadow wizard was a rare, but pleasant sight to behold as she danced along and played in the shadows.

When they neared wherever the girl was leading, Lyla stopped and said, "Okay! Close your eyes and give me your hand. I want this to be a surprise." When Laura glared, she threw her hands up in protest and insisted, "It's a good surprise! I swear on the moon!"

"Why on the moon?" Laura asked as she obeyed her friend's request.

Lyla sighed and began to pull Laura along. "It's really pretty tonight. You're practically glowing with beauty in the light. It just means that it'll be perfect what I want to show you."

The sound wizard heard the bittersweetness underlying the words. They continued to walk quietly. The sounds shifted from the quiet of a sleeping town to the whisper of trees.

"Where are we going?" Laura asked softly. The sound of the trees was enchanting and she didn't want to interrupt it.

Lyla seemed to understand that and kept her voice soft as well. "We're going to a place that I like. Just a little further now."

A couple of minutes later, they stopped. "Open your eyes." She did as told to see a large clearing surrounded by Magnolia trees. The late fall ivory blossoms seemed magical in the moonlight.

"I found this place by accident while going on a job. It took my breath away, even though at the time, they weren't in bloom. This is probably the second flowering of the year. I wanted to show you them."

Laura looked at the ring of tall trees that seemed to glow in the moonlight. It was breathtaking.

"I love it. Thank you for sharing it with me."


	6. The Sixth

Laura sat on the railing upstairs, waiting for Lyla to arrive. She and Sorren were out shopping for goods at the market. The woman kept hearing talk about the Miss Fairy Tail pageant. Along with the usual guildmates, there was also some other people from across the country all here to watch the show. She didn't know what a pageant was, but by the way everyone talked about it, it seemed to be where they judge girls based on their beauty. Quite pointless, really. More stupid than anything else.

Finding her friend, Laura hurried downstairs and snuck past all the people. Sorren already rushed off to the bar.

"Finally, I thought you'd never get back." The woman huffed.

"Well, we had to drop off the groceries back home. Nice haircut by the way."

While Lyla left early for shopping, Laura left early for spending. She got her hair washed and freshly cut to brush just past her chin.

"Could've been quicker about it."

Lyla shrugged, her mask lowered. "Too bad. I'm going to watch the pageant."

"Why?" She asked, baffled on what could be so interesting about it.

"What else am I supposed to do?" She walked a little way into the crowd.

Laura sighed with annoyance. She didn't have the patience to watch women dress into swimsuits, and didn't have any nerves left to strike to put up with Sorren.

With nothing better to do, Laura picked the seat furthest away from the man and ordered some food. Luckily, he kept his distance... for the first few minutes…

"Surprised to see you around all these people." The man started a conversation with her.

"I came here to get away from them. Didn't work well." She snarked.

"It's only me here."

"Hmph. Alcohol gone to your head already?"

"I might have downed a cup before this, but I'm still sober enough to make responsible decisions!"

"You've never made responsible decisions."

Sorren stared at her in slight distaste as the announcer began the pageant in the background. "I don't really get how Lyla could be friends with you." He sipped his booze.

Mirajane was in the pageant, so a different bartender served Laura's food.

"Wanna repeat that?" The woman snarled.

"She's so friendly and loud. You're just rude and closed off from everyone. Sure she teases and scares her friends, but she's so different compared to you."

"We react to different situations in different ways." Laura stood up and stomped off.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sorren mumbled to himself, sipping his booze. He left money for the food she left behind and went back to his original seat.

Laura stayed to the side as she watched the pageant. A woman in a wine red bikini stood on stage, gun in hand and long green hair. By her southern accent, she assumed her name to be Bisca.

Bisca showed off four golden coins and threw them into the air. She requipped a gun and shot through all four with one bullet, showing them off again when they fell into her hand.

"Let's move on to entry number seven!" The announcer spoke through the microphone. He had a blonde bowl cut. Max, maybe? "Fairy Tail's rising star… She shines as brightly as the spirits that guide her way… Lucy Heart-"

"Nooo!" The blond woman screamed, "Please don't say my last name out loud!" She waved nervously at the audience, dressed in a blue cheer uniform.

"Now show us what you got!" Max said.

"Me and my celestial spirits are gonna do a cheer for you guys!"

The crowd cheered, then everyone fell silent when a different voice called from backstage.

"Entry number eight… I am the very definition of 'Fairy'." The woman wore a short green dress. "Not to mention the very definition of beauty!" She waved a red fan in her hands, sauntering to the front of the stage.

"I am the only woman here that embodies everything that desires, so therefore the winner is… Me, lovely Evergreen!"

Laura could see why Lyla hated her.

"Now this idiotic contest can end!"

At least that was something they could agree on.

Lucy protested, angry she didn't get to perform on stage. Lowering her glasses, Evergreen stared into her eyes, turning her into stone. Was it her magic? Laura hasn't heard of anything like that.

"This is bad…" Max warned through the mic, "Everyone! Get out of here, now!"

Those who weren't Fairy Tail wizards screamed and stampeded out the doors. Laura smushed herself against the wall to try and avoid all of them.

"What do you think you're doing, Evergreen?" Makarov asked furiously

She only laughed. The curtains raised to reveal all the previous contestants in the pageant to be frozen into stone as well.

A ball of golden light emitted from the center of the stage. A bolt of lightning struck down to reveal Laxus Dreyar, Makarov's grandson.

"Well, looks like all your fans decided to head home." He grinned maliciously. He had blonde hair and grey eyes, wearing dark pants and a purple shirt. A black jacket with fur lining rested on his shoulders.

Laura looked around. A man in red clothing with long green hair leaned against one of the support beams upstairs. A second man in strange clothing with a helmet crouched on the railing beside him. Five dolls floated around him. Fullbuster referred to them as Freed and Bickslow when he saw them.

"The Thunder Legion…" Macao murmured. Laura remembered his name easily.

The same golden light that summoned Laxus appeared above Lucy's stone head. A lightning bolt struck down, barely missing her.

"I'm taking all of 'em all hostage." The man said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Break the rules and I'll shatter these chicks one-by-one. Or I could just smash them all right now."

"I'm not amused, Laxus. Stop fooling around!" The master ordered.

Laura let her hand glow pink, ready in case a fight broke out.

Freed leapt down onto the stage. "I always wondered who was the strongest in the guild. Now it's time to find out." His voice sounded calm yet firm, like he was confident whatever they planned could not go wrong.

"There's only one rule, whosever the one left standing is the winner. It's a Fairy Tail battle royale!

"Naturally, if you want me to turn the girls back to normal, you're going to have to defeat us first." Evergreen said.

"But those odds aren't bad. There's four of us and, like, a hundred of you guys." Bickslow's raspy voice cackled.

"Lot's of you! Lot's of you!" The five dolls around him chanted.

"You have three hours and not a second more. After that, these pretty statues of yours will reduce to dust."

"All of Magnolia will serve as the battlefield. The battle will begin when and if you can find us." Laxus explained the game. His lightning magic kicked up again. "Now, let the battle of Fairy Tail begin!" The light faded away as the sound of lightning did. The Thunder Legion had disappeared.

The whole guild stampeded outside, ready for a fight. Laura stayed still for a while, watching Lyla get blocked from going outside by an invisible wall. She walked up to the front of the guild hall.

"'Stone statues and anyone of the age of eighty years shall not pass.'" The girl read allowed.

"An enchantment." Laura mumbled to herself. It sounded like Freed's magic.

"It also says 'Those who lurks in the shadows are forbidden from entry in order to preserve light."

"Guess Thunder Legion know enough about you to put that in there." Laura said, casually walking up to Makarov, Happy, and Lyla.

"What's that mean?" Happy the talking cat asked.

"Meaning Freed's smart, but I'm smarter." Lyla began messing with the enchantment.

"What's she doing…?" The cat murmured.

"Shadow magic is her specialty, but she's dabbled in a few others." Laura explained.

When done, the girl slipped through. "See ya!"

"Lyla" The master called her back, "I swear, if you kill my grandson…"

"Relax, I won't." She sighed. "I'll just knock some sense into him."

"Then the knives?" Laura tattled on her, standing right outside the barrier that did not apply to her.

Reluctantly, Lyla pulled off her gloves and disposed the knives she kept off her body. That girl had slight pride in that collection of hers.

Makarov kept hold of her stuff while the two girls moved to higher ground. Lyla crouched on the roof of a local building, Laura standing stiffly beside her.

Laura closed her eyes, concentrating on the world around her. She heard normal chatter from townspeople, magic being cast, and some magic waiting to be activated, but no Lightning magic.

"It's noisy, I can't get anything on the Thunder Legion."

"I can't pinpoint Laxus either… There's too much magic around us."

"You've gotten rusty." Laura remarked.

"Let's see you do better."

"I've never had to look for a single person in such a large area."

"Neither have I."

Laura sighed. She had nothing to retort. With Lyla as the victor, they went back to searching.

"I can hear some wizards fighting. There's a third party magic surrounding them." Laura informed.

"I feel it too. Freed must've set more enchantments around town."

Lyla would be too focused on fighting Laxus to bother sensing the traps. "I'll lead, you just search for that lightning wizard." Laura told her. They knew each other too well.

"Where do you hear them?" the younger girl asked, crossing her arms after standing up.

"In a 200 yard radius, there's a lot clustered more western of town."

"Knocking more wizards the closer they get to him. We'll search there."

The duo traveled westward. Laura kept an ear out for traps while Lyla kept her eye out for Laxus. If they beat the final boss, the minions wouldn't know what to do, then this idiotic fight will be over.

...sh!


	7. The Seventh

The girls sprinted through the Magnolia streets. Laura kept and ear out for traps. She warned Lyla about the one to her left, they dodged. She slowed down slightly. "There's less the further we get."

They halted to a stop. Lyla asked, "Then where are they clustered?"

"More up north." Laura led the way. While listening for enchantments, she heard someone else's magic appear behind them. She didn't have to look behind her to jump onto Lyla so the green bullets missed. She created a crystalized wall around them as a safety precaution.

When the magical bullets ceased fire, Laura jumped into a defensive stand, Lyla copying her.

"Bickslow…" The younger girl snarled.

"So that's his name?"

Five wooden dolls floated around him. They stood on a roof of a building in front of a toy shop. Bickslow crouched on the top of the flagpole on the roof.

"Looks like we got two cuties to play with." The wizard grinned, sticking his tongue out as he spoke.

"Cuties! Cuties!" The dolls echoes.

"And he's a creep…" Laura snarled through gritted teeth.

"Too bad you're not wearing those sexy outfits the Miss Fairy Tail girls had." He shrugged.

"And a pervert." Lyla added.

"Alright babies... Time to tear it up!" Bickslow commanded his dolls. They started firing bullets again.

"Where are the traps!?" Lyla yelled while the girls dodged the bullets. One skimmed Laura's leg.

"Just stay up here! We're good!" She shouted back while wincing in pain. They regrouped, then Lyla shot shadow lances with her make magic.

"No! My babies!" Bickslow cried, "What am I gonna do…! My poor babies!" He laughed, "Psych!"

Laura had a feeling this fight wouldn't be too easy. Laxus would want his allies to be stronger than that.

"For me, this is more than just a toy shop. It's an armoury!" He explained while five toy dolls rose from the store.

"He can control dolls?" The older woman asked in shock.

"Nah, these are just tools. What I really control are souls."

"Dammit…" Lyla snarled. The dolls zipped around the girls. Laura couldn't predict where the dolls would be with all their laughing. She ended up breaking a few of them, though.

"It's totally pointless. These are souls, ladies, you can't hurt 'em. You can destroy their bodies, but I'll just move them on to somethin' else." Bicklow explained, "That means I get new babies!"

Laura leapt onto the roof of the toy shop, trusting Lyla to deal with the dolls.

"Beat him up already!" She heard her friend yell.

"Disturbed!" Laura shouted, casting a magic circle beneath her. A loud screeching noise shout all around her. Bicklow clutched his ears in pain.

"Crap. Looks like it's time for the big guns…" He took off his helmet, cracking his neck before opening his eyes. "Figure eyes." A green glow emitted around him.

"Laura, close your eyes!" Lyla shouted from below. The woman followed orders. "All of the Thunder Legion members have secondary magic in their eyes. Bickslow turns you into another of his dolls if you look at his eyes."

Bickslow cackled, "My possession and figure eyes combo is unbeatable, and you guys won't give it so much as a look? Come on…!"

"Laura!"

"Got it!" Laura kept her eyes close, using sound to move around. She raised her hands and casted a spell, another screeching noise shooting out directly at Bickslow. "Sound Make: Glove." She whispered, a crystalized gloved forming around her fist. She swung in to punch him, using Sound Palm to transmit a powerful soundwave to Bickslow's body. It would be considered Sound Fist, though.

Bickslow flew back at the impact, creating a trail of broken buildings as he rammed into them. Laura then gave her friend the okay to open her eyes and jump to the toy shop.

"I suppose I went overboard." The older woman stated.

"I wouldn't care, but you kinda…" Lyla pointed at her ear. Laura placed two fingers on her own. When looking at them, she found blood. It started to trickle down her face. "Crap. I had a streak going, too…"

"Still haven't found anything on that problem?"

"Haven't found a sound wizard like me. On top of that, books are kind of useless to me."

Lyla stifled a laugh, making a weird face. "Looks like I'm finally catching up to you! I can even read in my sleep."

"I'd like to see you try!" Laura sighed, "Come on, we better find Laxus."

She led the way, Lyla giggling behind her. She warned the younger girl for enchantments. She also saw some guildmates fighting each other, having to obey the rules Freed placed.

Laura skidded to a stop, Lyla doing the same. Anyone this close to the church would've heard the sounds of lightning magic and explosions. Lyla still had to be kept on a leash with her hatred towards Laxus blinding her.

When they arrived, Erza Scarlet fought Laxus with one of her magical armour sets. Laura couldn't stop Lyla before she literally leapt into action to swing a punch at Laxus, landing on Natsu's head when doing so. He laid there, unconscious.

"Erza! What's with those orbs in the sky?" Lyla asked Erza. Laura looked up. There were countless yellow orbs in the sky. There seemed to be lightning magic coming from it.

"That's called Thunder Palace. They'll electrocute the town if we don't stop them soon." The redhead answered, "Laxus placed body link magic on them, so we risk our lives just destroying one."

"Then we destroy them all at once." Laura suggested. She stood beside the gaping whole in the wall that was once the front doors.

"Then that's What we'll do." Erza ran outside, ordering Laura to follow. She looked back at Lyla, who nodded. Nodding back, she followed the older woman.

Erza took them to an empty spot in town. She requipped into armour she called Heaven's Wheel, which resembled and angel suited for combat.

She began summoning swords they appeared around her quickly, but started to slow as her magical energy depleted.

"How many of those can you hit at once?" She asked.

Laura analyzed the situation. Her ears were already bleeding, so no point in holding back now. "If I get close enough, at most three using a wide ranged spell."

Erza huffed after summoning another sword, "Even with that, I still need to summon another one hundred swords."

Just then, a man's voice echoed in Laura's head. Erza responded to the voice, too.

"Hey Fairy Tail, can you hear me?" He asked.

"That's Warren…"

Laura hasn't heard of anyone with that name, but some guildmates spoke about a wizard with telepathy magic returning to the guild for the festival. That must be him.

Warren pointed out Thunder Palace to anyone who heard him. "We're gonna have to pull together. So get off your butts and lend us a hand. If any of you are still fighting, just give it a rest for a second."

That's right… some wizards are still caught in enchantments.

He explained the purpose of Thunder Palace and how Laxus planned on using it in a few minutes, trying to convince everyone to work together.

"Wait a minute, how did you find out about the Thunder Palace, Warren?" Erza asked. So not only could he speak to them, but they could speak to him as well. Laura better watch what she says then, if she decides to talk at all.

Gray responded to Erza's question. He told Warren about the palace so he could tell the rest. Everyone in range of the telepathy magic started catching up on the events that happened today. All the petrified Miss Fairy Tail pageants have been freed, which explains Erza running around.

"There's one problem." Warren explained, "My telepathy can't reach al the way to the guild hall, so we'll have to make due with the people who can hear me."

"Hold it right there, Warren!" It sounded like Max, the pageant's announcer's voice, "Why should I do what you say after what you did to me?" He must be referring to fighting in one of the traps.

"Hey! I'm sorry about that. I-I-I swear it wasn't anything personal, I was just desperate to save the girls!"

Everyone started arguing over the fights faced with the other wizards. Laura cupped her ears in pain, but that didn't help since their voices echoed in her head.

"Will you shut up?!" Laura yelled. Everyone stopped. "Some of us would like to keep our eardrums in tact! If this is how you so called Fairy Tail wizards treat each other, then I say I've made a mistake coming here! I joined this guild because I was told how amazing, powerful, and friendly the wizards were, but right now, you're all just a bunch of children fighting because you lost a game of tag! What kind of guild is that?!" She huffed, realizing she didn't take a breath between sentences.

Lucy continued for her, "Laura's right. The citizens of Magnolia are in danger and we're the only ones who can help them. So we're gonna have to work together! I know that I'm still fairly new to Fairy Tail, but I promise you I love being a part of this guild just as much as the rest of you. If none of you are up to the challenge, then I'll do this alone. I'll destroy those things myself!"

The blond made her touching speech. By the end, Everyone thanked her and praised her. Laura didn't expect any credit, but Macao told her, "You did a good job, Laura. You may not show it, but you have a lot of Fairy Tail spirit in ya."

Laura growled, her cheeks turning pink, "My ears were just hurting okay, old man! Now, let's do what Lucy said and work together, or whatever."

Erza chuckled. Laura growled defensively in response.

"I'll take the two hundred to the north." The redhead returned to the task at hand, "Everybody else can take the rest . We can do this!"

Laura leapt roof to roof until she could reach the tallest. She jumped into the sky, using the sound from one of her spells to cast her up, then controlled the soundwaves from her screaming to maximize their power and slice through three orbs before falling back down.

She watched all the other orbs be destroyed by her guildmates' magic, sparkly dust from the glass of the orbs falling like now. It looked so pretty, but this moment of peace was quickly interrupted by the body link magic kicking in. Laura got electrocuted, screaming in pain.

When the lightning stopped, she could hear her body sizzling, and her skin felt fried. She became dizzy and tipped over, falling from the roof to the road. No one stood around her to see her pathetic state, luckily.

Laura just laid there, silent until a certain shadow wizard ran up to her.

"You okay?" Lyla asked in concern.

She grunted in pain, "Yeah, I used just enough to destroy one so my ears won't get worse." Lies. She just didn't want Lyla worrying.

The girl smiled, lowering her mask, "Let's go to the infirmary. Since Erza is back to herself, I assume the rest of the girls are, as well."

"This concerns me, why?" Laura asked as her friend helped her up and walked her back to the guild.

"That means Mirajane can tend to your injuries."

"I guess that's important." Laura saw a white light emit from the church. It was Laxus, and Natsu still there for all she knew, so who could've cast that spell? "What was that…?"

"That was… Fairy Law. Master Makarov used it once." Lyla explained, "It deals great damage to those the caster sees as enemies. That old man has no use in using it, so I can only assume Laxus casted it."

"We're not hurt besides what we felt beforehand…"

"Exactly. That must mean Laxus truly cares about everyone here." She sighed in disappointment, "That also means it's pointless in fighting him, I guess." Laura let a smile slip through her lips, "Out of curiosity, who would be affected if you casted Fairy Law?"

"Laxus along with the rest of Thunder Legion, of course."

Laura could hear the pitch in her voice and her heartbeat. "Just remember: I can tell if you're telling the truth or not."


	8. The Eighth

Laura waited in the train, clutching a bag in her lap. She had accepted a job in Malba City to safely deliver an expensive package. The flyer said there would be more details when she meets with the person who sent the job.

The Fantasia parade took place two nights ago. Lyla and Laura didn't take part in it for the simple reason of them not wanting to show off. Laxus got kicked out of the guild, and the rest of the Thunder Legion were trying to bond with the rest of the guild.

Laura watched the passing countryside, trying to ignore the noise from the rest of the train. It didn't work.

She had a small pouch tied around her waist, under her cloak. Before leaving for the job, Lyla had left on one herself and saved some extra money for her friend. Laura didn't have that steady of an income, so she appreciated it.

When the train stopped at Malba city, she almost jumped from her seat and hurried off. She waited in line as the other passengers filed out of the doors. Exiting the train, she took another look at the flyer, checking the address she was suppose to go to. Malba seemed to be quite small for a city, but it was still crowded and loud. Finding the address might take some time…

She walked down the roads, keeping an eye out for signs and street names. Laura tried to avoid as many people as possible, but she ran into a few. Two of them happened to be children playing tag. They bumped into her and one fell to the ground. He had light brown hair and brown eyes.

"Sorry!" He apologized before the two boys ket running. Laura furrowed her eyebrows.

The boys ran a few more blocks down before dipping into an alleyway to check how much money they stole. The boy with brown hair snatched a pouch off of the woman's waist.

"How much jewel did you get?" The older boy asked. He had green hair and light eyes.

"I'm counting! I'm counting!" The other exclaimed, "Uhm… 1, 2… 3… Uhm…"

"Five thousand jewel." Laura leaned against the wall at the edge of the alley way. The boys jumped in fear.

"How did you-"

"I heard the coins."

"Huh?" The younger boy expressed his confusion.

Laura closed in on them, "If you want to steal money, make sure you at least get the bigger amount." She held a larger bag in her hand, filled with more jewel. "I'm not dumb. I keep my money separately. What you stole was pocket money in case I got hungry on my way here."

A few seconds of silence followed before the boys ran, jumping over the fence separating the alley. They ran across several streets where they found a closed food stall. They ducked behind the counter and waited.

"I'll buy a pound of carrots and one head of lettuce, please. It's been a while since I had a salad." The boys flinched at the sound of Laura's voice.

"Stop it! You're just messing with us!" The older boy shouted. Laura leaned over the counter to pick up the younger boy and take her money back. She dropped him and walked away, only stopping to say, "You're just kids. Stop living as thieves and go find an orphanage or something."

After that fiasco and a few more hours of wondering, Laura found a rich looking house that matched the address on the flyer. She knocked on the door for a young woman in a maid's outfit to answer.

"I'm the wizard who accept the job." Laura showed the flyer. She nodded and took her to the living area. An older man in an expensive suit sait on the cushiony couch.

"Ah, you must be the wizard from Fairy Tail." He stood up to shake her hand.

"Laura Ragstone. What type of package am I delivering?"

He chuckled, "Straight to business, I see. I'm Noleb Akuza. My son owns a Magical Vehicle company and he's looking for a new source of power for the non-wizards in Earth Land." He handed Laura a paper package as he continued explaining, "I found a special type of lacrima that I think might help with his research. It seems to act as alternate fuel."

I mean… I guess that would be a reasonable excuse to hire someone rather than just sending it through the postal service.

"I don't want that to leave your sights until it ends up in my son's hands."

"Of course. Where does your son live?"

Noleb rubbed the back of his neck, "Oh, uh… He lives across the country."

God dammit! Laura sighed, "Very well then. I'll get going."

"Thank you." Noleb said as the woman walked out of the building. She couldn't sit in a train compartment for another twelve hours, so she found a hotel to stay in for the night. A night in a comfy bed and full meal in the morning would be nice.

Laura opened the backpack she took with her and dressed into a set of night clothes. She lied and bed and let her thoughts die down before falling asleep. She worried for Lyla, who has been on edge since the battle of Fairy Tail. Emotions weren't either of their strong suits.


	9. Chapter 9

Laura ate breakfast in the lobby of the hotel she stayed in. She had everything packed and the lacrima safely kept in her bag. She had a secret pocket in the bag that she made herself.

Finishing her meal, she walked out of the building and bought some extra food at the market for the trip. She put the produce in her bag and walked to the train station. She came across a hair salon also selling hair products and makeup for women. Without batting an eye, she continued forward. She had a job to do. With the reward money, she could buy whatever she wanted.

When it arrived, Laura boarded the train, finding the quietest spot and sitting there. She made sure to look especially annoyed so no one would bother sitting by her. Keeping the bag close to her person, Laura stared out of the window, waiting for the next stop.

She heard the prison guards' footsteps approach her sell. Their armour was too noisy and the thumping of their metal boots pounded in her head. She kept her eyes closed, huddled in the corner to get as far away from the noise as possible.

She didn't realize she held her breath when the guards stopped. She could hear their heavy breathing, though.

A few more moments of silence followed. She became fed up with it and darted towards the rusting cell bars within a lightning second.

"If you're not gonna do a damn thing then _go away!" _She screeched, her voice sore from lack of water and her tongue too sandy to pronounce words properly.

"We've been given orders from the Magic Council to release you." One guard said, his voice tense. She cocked her head in confusion, bursted out, "What about my sister?! She's coming with me!"

"We've only been given orders to deal with you." The other guard stated.

After the clinking and jangling of the keys, the rusting cell door creaked open. She gritted her teeth at the painful sound.

She struggled, trying to fight back, but lack of food and water left her weak and the guards cuffed her to prevent her from using her magic.

Her head hung low, she followed the guards right outside of the prison, a third guard waiting for her in the stagecoach. She would be taken to the home of a married couple who could not have children of their own.

Laura sat in the stagecoach. Taking several trips on train was getting too expensive and a little too noisy, so she'd have to settle for this. She'd much rather hear the clopping of horses hooves on a dirt trail than the murmur of passengers and huffing of smoke from the engine.

The woman kept the bag on her lap, constantly feeling for the crystal as if it would just vanish any second now. She looked up, her eyes exhausted from doing nothing for so long. _I wonder how Lyla's doing on her job? _

Letting her guard down, Laura closed her eyes and slowly began to slip into slumber. The sudden stop of the stagecoach and angered yelling of the driver pulled her out of it. She checked outside to see the two boys from yesterday. How'd they so far out of town?

"I'm warning you, old fart! Give us all your valuables!" The younger boy threatened without a weapon.

"Old fart!? You brats better leave before my horse stomps you into roadkill!"

The older boy kicked the dirt under his feet, sticking his tongue out.

"Why I oughta- Go back to the parents who failed to raise you properly!"

Just before the younger boy could jump at the man, Laura grabbed him by the back of his shirt collar. Both boys gasped when seeing her.

"It's you!" The older boy exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's me." She tugged on the younger boy's shirt and threw him back. "You little shits go back to Malba. There's no one to poorly pickpocket off of out here."

Pouting, the younger boy got up and kicked up the dirt under him at Laura. The woman held her hand up, a magic circle appearing from her palm as she used the sound of his shoes to create a powerful gust of wind and blowing dirt all over the boys. The cough and blinked. Their whole bodies had been covered in dirt.

"You're a wizard?!" Both boys exclaimed in excitement.

"How'd you do that? Tell us! Tell us!"

"I simply magnified sound to make it more powerful. Your shoes are quiet, so it was pretty weak."

The younger boy ran up and hugged her waist, which was where his height allowed him. "Show us how to cast spells!"

Laura pulled him away, brushing the dirt from him off her clothes. "Rather not." She stared at the boys with cold eyes. They frowned and slumped away. Laura sighed, "Wait." They spun around with anxiousness. Laura turned to the driver, "I'll be taking them with me."

"Those annoying gremlins?!"

"Take me until the sun starts to set. I'll still pay you normal price."

The driver snorted in anger as he watched the boys follow her onto the stagecoach. "Getting dirt on my vehicle. I'll make her pay extra for making have to clean it." He murmured under her breath.

Laura sat across from the boys, the bag still on her lap as she bent down to stare at them. "Names."

"Huh?" The younger boy let out.

"Your names."

"Monty and Python."

"_Real _names, idiot."

The boy wore a look of disappointment as he bent over to rest his head on his hand, "Donbegnal. That's Orga."

"Well, Dobengal, Orga, I'm Laura, and I'm heading to the edge of Fiore to deliver a package. You get to join." She sat up straight.

"I thought we'd be learning magic!" Dobengal exclaimed.

"I didn't say anything about that. I just said you were coming with me."

"That's no fair! We want to learn magic!"

"Yeah!" Orga added.

"Then learn by reading a spellbook or something. Join a guild and learn from the wizards there if you have to."

"Is that how you learned?" Dobengal asked.

"Well, I learned a bit from my mother."

Dobengal leaned back in his seat, staring out the window. Both kept silent. Laura sighed. This was going to be a day…

"Ages?" She asked.

Reluctantly, Dobengal answered, "I'm eleven… Orga's thirteen, but I'm going to be twelve soon!"

"You know your birthdays? That's good. What got you out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"Hey, why do you keep asking questions? We're in control of the situation here!"

"Oh?" Laura just waited for Dobengal to fall since he stood up on the seat.

"Yeah! Because I have the rest of your money right here!" He pulled out a bag of jewel, the coins jangling with the movements of the cart.

"Impressive. I see you learned from our last encounter, but-"

The cart suddenly stopped. Thanks to inertia, Dobengal fell forwards and planted his face onto the floor. Laura let a smirk slip out.

The driver called back, "This is as far as I'll take you, lady."

She took the bag of money the boy dropped and walked over him to get out. She paid the driver before he drove off. The two boys waited beside her.

"Let's make a few rules. You'll do as I say, you'll stay by my side at all times, and you can leave whenever you want to."

The boys gave each other a look and shrugged in confusion.

"Follow me, we'll find a place to stay."

The boys followed Laura through the forest. She casually walked through while the boys constantly tripped and ran into bushes. They stomped on twigs, rustled leaves, accidently hit their toes on larger rocks.

"You guys are thieves, try to be more quiet."

"We've never been in a forest before, lady!" Dobengal exclaimed in frustration.

"Calling me names now, are we?"

"Yeah! You keep thinking you're better than us! And you keep making fun of us!"

"Shut up, you'll alert the animals."

The child growled in fury. Orga kept quiet, keeping close behind his friend.

When the boy was about to open his mouth, Laura covered it with her hand. Muffled yells still escaped, though.

Ignoring him, Laura listened. She thought she heard water. "Keep your mouth shut for another few minutes." She ordered Dobengal. He almost burst out in more screaming, but kept quiet anyways. He didn't know why.

Laura followed the sound of rushing water. When she realized the boys could hear it, she started searching around the immediate area, finding a small river just behind a wall of greenery.

"Ready to clean yourself up?" She asked the boys, showing them the water.

"We don't need baths. I think we smell fine." Dobengal crossed his arms.

Both of them obviously stank, but Laura just ruffled the younger boy's hair and said, "No, but you're covered in dirt and grime. It'd be nice to wash that off.

He swatted away her hand and stomped towards the river, Orga following him.

"What about you? Huh? I bet you stink, too!"

"Please, I took a bath this morning."

Scoffing, the boys listened to her and did as told. Meantime, Laura set up a small camp. They had another hour or two before nightfall Having time to realize her situation, she knew Lyla would never believe her if she told her what happened.

When Dobengal and Orga came back from the river, Laura already had a fire going. The boys' eyes lit up when they saw the produce laying on top of her bag.

She took an apple and threw it at Orga. He caught it. Dobengal ran over to take the grapes. Laura picked one off the stem and flicked it at the boy. It bounced off his nose.

"Ow...! What was that for?!"

"For being annoying. Keep quiet or I'll hit you."

"Bitch." Her mumbled with a mouthful of grapes. A hard smack in the head followed. "Ow! What the heck?!"

"I heard that. Maybe I shouldn't give you any food at all."

"You said you'll hit me if I'm loud, not if I call you names!"

"And you're still being loud."

Rubbing his head, Dobengal plopped cross legged onto the dirt ground. Orga enjoyed his apple across from him. Laura just leaned back and enjoyed the warmth from the fire.

She enjoyed the minute of nothing crackling fire, but she had to hit Dobengal again when he tried stealing her pouch of money for the third time. He rubbed his head some more, sitting right beside her.

"I've asked before, but never got an answer. How'd you brats get so far out here in so little time?"

The younger boy answered. "Same as you. We snuck onto the train."

"Surprised. You two are louder than elephants."

"Hmph!" He pouted, crossing his arms.

Laura let out another soft smirk. She found this kid entertaining. "Orga, you feel like saying anything? It's not like I'm turning you in or anything."

"He grew up an orphan. He doesn't know how to talk much."

"I see. What words does he know?"

"Some to talk." Orga mumbled. "I say things Dobengal say."

"That explains some things." Laura turned to the boy with a stern look, "You talk _plenty."_

Dobengal stared into the fire, a heartbroken look in his eyes.

"Kid, I'm not going to ask how you ended up how you are, but I'm telling you now that whatever happened then doesn't determine the life you live now. You both are still young. Go to an orphanage, ask people for food instead of stealing it."

"That doesn't work. People in Malba are too greedy. We had to be greedy too."

Laura leaned over to him, "Well you're not in that city anymore." She leaned back, showing the paper package she took from the inside of his shirt, "And stop being greedy."

"What the- How?!"

"I know my money isn't all you stole when you hugged be. You're good at finding stuff, you're bad at taking it."

Dobengal growled in response. Laura noticed Orga looking angry too. The older boy just felt that way because he saw Dobengal that way.

"Finish your food and go to sleep. I need to wake up early to deliver a package." Laura lay down on the blanket under her and closed her eyes, listening to the crackling fire slowly die out.

So... hi. I did not mean to do this, but oh well. I started a new job and that really screwed up my schedule. I'm sorry for just disappearing like that, but from here on out, it might be a little sporadic. School starts soon and that will mess with things again. Sorry. I hope you understand. And I will try to update every week.


	10. Chapter 10

Laura's eyes refused to open with the weight of exhaustion, but she knew she needed to hit the road as soon as possible. When trying to sit up, she felt something warm on top of her. It was Orga, sleeping soundly.

The woman growled before yelling, "Wake up you brats!"

The Orga jumped awake, frightened. Dobengal still lay fast asleep next to the dead fire. Laura scoffed before standing up and packing her things. Orga sat there, watching her with curious eyes. She looked at him and glared in annoyance. He flinched and stood up just to sit next to the sleeping Dobengal.

When Laura had everything ready, she went over to the fire. The wood had become mostly charcoal, which still had some heat to it, surprisingly. She walked back to the river, motioning for Orga to stay put. There, she splashed water on her face and took a quick drink. She refilled the flask she brought with her, then walked back to see Dobengal _still _sleeping.

She opened her flask and poured water on the little boy's face. He sat up immediately and started spitting and coughing, wiping water out of his eyes.

"What was that for, bitch?!"

"I didn't do anything." She lied monotonously.

"Then where did all this water come from?!"

"Dunno. You probably peed yourself while you were sleeping."

"Yeah right, I did!"

"Oh, so you did?"

"No! I-" Dobengal growled, his face turning red with a mix of anger and embarrassment. Something hit his face just then. He held his aching nose while grunting in pain.

"Relax, it's not like you need stitches." Laura halfheartedly reassured.

"I-It's bleeding! You made my nose bleed!"

"Then go clean it at the river. Refill that flask too."

The boy growled in fury, taking the flask she threw at him anyways as he walked to the river with Orga.

"That woman is horrible!" Dobengal ranted as he tried cleaning his nose. "I feel bad for her future children. Damn! That's if she ever gets a husband! Who would love a bitch like that?"

Orga just filled the flask with a smile on his face, letting his friend say words he didn't always understand.

When they finished, they returned to Laura, who waited on them to set out.

"Caught any fish?" She asked.

"What? Why would we?"

"You boys took so long, I thought you might have gotten us breakfast."

"Like hell we would! Agh!"

Laura took Dobengal's head full of hair and dragged him until they found the tree line. She then let him go. The punches he swung were rather weak, or maybe Laura just had a high pain tolerance. She's felt way worse.

"Watch your mouth. No one wants a child with vulgar language."

"Why should I listen to you?" He shouted at her.

"Because I'm the adult here. You were the ones who followed me here, meaning that I'm the leader."

Dobengal growled, crossing his arms.

"If you want to stay in the forest, then stay." Laura said, waving as she walked forwards, "Remember, I said you could leave whenever you wanted."

"Hmph." Dobengal stomped right into the forest. Orga looked between the two before finally choosing to follow his friend, who mumbled insults and complained about the woman. He stopped when he didn't recognize any of the trees or foliage.

"Waiiiiit!" He shouted, turning around and bolting out of the forest. Laura sighed as she waited for them to catch up to her.

"Come on, we're wasting time." She said, continuing while they caught their breath. They continued along the dirt road for quite a while. Laura would ignore some things Dobengal would say, though he would get hit every now and then.

He'd complain and whine, constantly saying things like, "Why do we have to walk so early?", "Are we there yet?", "I'm hungryyyyy!"

Laura just tossed and apple behind her, bouncing off the boy's head. He began eating. At least it would shut him up for a while.

"Hungry, Orga?" She asked. The older boy looked at the second apple in her hand and shyly nodded. She lightly tossed it to him and he caught it, gladly taking a bite. Thank goodness she bought several of them. Maybe they could stop by a town to replenish food?

Laura counted her money. She had enough jewel for the three of them to eat a full meal, but then there would be no way to get across the country any quicker than walking.

"Hm…" Walking would take too long and they'd run out of money. Maybe if she just bought snacks? Ugh… She only brought enough for her. She didn't expect she'd be babysitting some annoying kids.

Maybe she could just drop them off on the next town? Yeah! There's got to be an orphanage somewhere! She can ditch them there and have enough money for a train ride to that man's son. She'll get paid and be able to get back home!

"Lady, do you have anymore food?" Dobengal asked.

"No, but we should be arriving at a town in another hour or so."

"An hour? But I'm still hungry!"

"Eat the dirt for all I care."

He snarled, pouting. Orga noticed his stomach growling and wanted to help. He looked at the woman's bag. Maybe there's still food? He snuck up behind her and rummaged through her bag as quietly as possible, but as soon as his fingers grazed the fabric, she swatted them away.

"You're bad at stealing. Stop it." She told him. He looked back at Dobengal. She followed his gaze and sighed. "If you hold on for a little longer, I can buy us all a hot meal." She said loud enough for the boy behind her to hear.

Dobengal's eyes sparkled in excitement, and his mouth widened into a big smile. He noticed his slip up and tried returning to his original hangry state. This made Laura smirk.

Orga pointed at something in the branches of a nearby tree. "A bug!" He exclaimed. He still got excited about bugs at his age?

Laura looked where his finger pointed. This poor child. "That's a spider. Not a bug. Bugs don't spin webs." They stopped at the tree. "See? It has eight legs, first of all. Insects have only six."

Orga looked at her like she spoke another language. Dobengal came up next to him, shouting at Laura, "Idiot! He doesn't know what you're saying! He doesn't talk much, remember!"

"Fine! Then you explain it to him!" She crossed her arms, leaning against the tree and Dobengal explained.

"That? A spider. Not bug."

"Why?"

"Legs. There's a different number. It's more than a bug's."

"Ohh…"

Laura stood up, sarcastically clapping as she spoke, "Great. Let's add it to our collection. Let's go! Unless you don't want to eat."

They continued down the path, Orga right at Laura's side for some reason. He kept pointing at things. Laura would tell them what they were as simply as possible, but Dobengal would still have to dumb it down every now and then.

Roughly an hour later, they arrived at Greenmill Town: A friendly looking place filled with -mostly- friendly people. There were acres upon acres of wheat with a few other crops growing in the gardens of resident's houses. A short train ride from here should be the Akusa's estate where she can deliver the lacrima.

"Alright. Now to find a restaurant. This place has plenty of food. There's gotta be a place to eat somewhere…" She mumbled the last half to herself. She'd also need to find a place to drop these kids off.

Reluctantly, Laura approached a woman with caramel hair and round eyes and asked for directions. She thanked the woman and took the kids to a small diner. They sat down and ordered some food after a lot of arguing over what Laura could and couldn't afford.

"You know, we have the money." Dobengal said with his usually bratty tone.

"We do, but I need extra for a train ticket." She snapped, still stressed over the effort it took to order something.

"No, I mean-" He pointed at Orga, who held up some paper money.

"Where did you-?!" Laura bolted up from her seat, slamming her hands onto the table. She snarled, she didn't need them to answer that question. She snatched the money and stomped out. "Stay there, I'll be right back."

Laura listened for the woman's sweet voice. Soon enough, she found the woman in a small library not to far from the diner. Everything was small here. If you didn't know anyone here, you'd have to be a stranger like Laura.

She approached the woman, handing the stolen money over. The woman looked at her in confusion.

"One of the brats I'm stuck watching stole this. Take it back."

The woman did, thanking her. "It's alright. I've heard kids can be quite troublesome."

"Yeah well, those are another thing to handle."

The woman gave a soft chuckle. "Make sure you raise them well. They'll be gone before you know it."

Laura grew agitated. "Like hell. They're not mine."

"But you're caring for them. And that's what a mother does. She loves the people in her life and makes sure they grow to be strong and just as caring as her."

Not knowing what to say, Laura just responded with, "I'll keep that in mind." And walked back to the diner.

The woman held the money to her chest, fighting tears. If only she'd been a better mother, she would've spent this money on her child.

Laura sat down, staring at the boys with distaste. Dobengal acted as innocently as possible, pretending to be nothing but a child waiting on food. Orga sat there, hunched over and averting eye contact. These two are so different, yet they're so close. So are Sorren and Lyla, so why did they get along so well?

"Dobengal." She spoke with a little snap at the end, "Stop stealing. You'll never be able to make it as a thief."

"I've made it this far." His eyebrows furrowed.

"You're bad at it."

"Am not! You're just weird."

Laura sighed, "No. I've just dealt with crime before."

That shut him up, shockingly. A couple minutes later, the waitress came by with their meals. Both boys practically inhaled their food. Laura ate fast, but not like that.

They stared at the remains of her plate. They had already finished. Giving them a look, Laura nudged the plate towards them. Dobengal took it and shoved more food in his mouth. Orga shook his shoulder.

"Relax! I'll save some!"

Laura placed their payment on the table and walked off. "Stay here. Wait right outside, but not any further." She walked to the library. These books were free, if she remembered correctly. She's only been to a library once, and that was some time ago.

Walking in, the building smelled of paper and ink. She began looking at all the books, trying to find the ones with the smallest words. She came back carrying at least six books. She even had to put some in her bag.

Coming back, she saw the boys waiting right outside the diner.

"Stole anything while I was gone?" She asked strictly.

"Nope!"

"That a lie?"

"I'm a thief, not a liar!"

Laura cocked her head and glared. She peered into the window to see the money she left still there. "Follow me."

It didn't seem like this small place would have an orphanage. The only form of school seemed to be the library and a single-roomed wooden building.

Not wanting to interrupt class and have a room of kids stare at her, Laura decided she'd go to the woman she met before. Finding the sound of her breathing wouldn't be hard with the low population here.

She found a cottage that might be the woman's house.

"Orga, hold these." Laura gave him some of the books in her hands so she could knock on the door. Orga already examined one, turning it over and back.

The woman with caramel hair answered the door. "Oh, you're the young lady from before."

"Yes, and-" She leaned in to whisper, "These brats need to place to stay… permanently."

The woman nodded and widened the door for them to come in. She took them to her living area.

"I'm sorry there's nothing fun for you boys to do. I only have baby toys." She apologized. Orga and Dobengal found a spot in the corner to look at the books, trying to decode them. Neither of them could read, it seems.

"Now… about them…" The woman began.

"They followed me here. I'm just trying to get rid of them." Laura explained bluntly. She felt awkward in her situation. Kids weren't her strong suit, she just wanted them gone, and being in a stranger's home didn't feel comfortable.

"There's barely anything for children to do here, but I might be able to find them places to live."

"I'm in the middle of a job, taking them off of my hands would be great." Laura stood stiffly, trying to take up as little space as possible.

"Wait, you came here to leave us?!" Dobengal exclaimed.

"Oh please, I can't take care of you troublemakers. What'd you expect?"

"But you're suppose to teach me magic!"

"I never agreed to that you little-"

The woman intervened, "Before you destroy my house, maybe you boys should reconsider? I won't be your mother, I'll only look out for you until I can find someone to take you. Both of you." She crouched down and rubbed his head. He swatted her hand away.

Without a word, Laura walked off and searched for a train station. She asked for directions to the nearest stop. Luckily, it was only a few miles walk from the town.

She had waited for the train to finally arrive. She had just enough money to last her until she got paid, thankfully.

Boarding, it would be no problem finding a quiet place to rest. Barely anyone lived in the area.

Laura sat in a booth, ready to take a nap. She closed her eyes and let the sounds of the train lull her to sleep.

The only thing that kept her up was her bag in her lap be tugged on by someone. She clutched the person's wrist, only to be shocked when she realized she grabbed Dobengal's head.

"I was only going to look!"

She paused, letting him go and glared at them as they sat across from her.

"Why the hell did you run away?" She said in a tone that didn't sound like a question.

"The lady let us go. She even gave us some cookies!" He held one out to show her. He had more stuffed in his pants pockets.

Okay, so she would be stuck with them for a little longer… Great.

"What you meant when you said you dealt with crime?" Dobengal asked suddenly. This took Laura by surprise.

"Excuse me?"

"Where we ate. You said you dealt with bad guys. Are you a superhero?" He asked with bright eyes.

"Look, stealing is not good. No one will trust you, and the law will come for you. You won't be able to live a normal life and at some point, you'll end up in jail. It's not fun and it's not right."

"Jeez, I get it." Dobengal crossed his arms,

Laura would fight back if it weren't for the sound of heavy footsteps.

"Speaking of stealing…"

The footsteps grew louder. It was two men around Laura's age; Complete delinquents. They had some weird combination of greaser and ninja styled clothing. It didn't look flattering nor intimidating.

"Give us all the dough, you dame." One young man ordered.

"You idiots are gonna get yourselves killed one day." Laura said, unimpressed as she stood up, leaving her bag in her spot.

"Huh? Hey! Just give us the cash before I shoot!" The second man yelled, pointing a lousy pistol at her.

"Jeez, can't I go a day without being robbed?" Laura sked herself, she untied a pouch in her hand. "You guys are some kinda ninjas, right? Where are your shurikens and all that?"

Laura slammed the pouch on the floor, dust flying everywhere. She stole the weapons from the mens' pockets and belts.

"Found 'em." As the dust cleared out, she leapt up and threw several kunai at their feet. The men danced and yipped while trying to dodge the blades.

Laura spin kicked the first man's head, which hit the other's, knocking both of them nearly unconscious.

"Learned that last but from a friend. Now, get out before I do something worse."

Terrified, the men screamed and jumped out the window of the cart. She didn't expect them to go that far, but at least they were gone.

She turned back to the boys, who stared at her in astonishment.

"Teach me how to do that!" Dobengal exclaimed, continuing to fanboy. "You just 'boosh!' then 'shing!' 'Bambam!'"

Laura sighed. She could only imagine what Orga would say if he knew to talk. Instead, he held the book up to her, pointing at a word.

"Hey, brat." Dobengal answered to that name to Laura's amusement. "Help your friend read. You know more than me."

"Huh? You can't read?"

"Never learned, was never taught."

Orga turned to his friend, who sounded it out and told him what it meant.

"Why did you never learn to read? Is it something to do with the crime?" Dobengal asked after helping.

Laura sighed, "Brat, my past isn't important. Why don't I show you my homemade dust bombs? They're just dry dirt, so I can make as many as I want."

The boy knew she purposely changed the subject, but he _really _wanted to know how she did what she did when fighting those guys.

"Come on! Come on! What they got?" She asked in excited. The girls kept their voices hushed.

"There's food! It tastes good!" The younger girl exclaimed with a mouthful of pastry.

"Get some for me! I like cookies the most!"

"Which one's are those?"

"The flat circles. Some have chocolate chips!"

"Chocolate- Oh, are these it?" The younger girl held out a cookie with brown spots on it.

She nodded. "Momma used to make those all the time!"

"Hey!" A man's voice shouted. He wore a guard uniform.

"Run!" She shrieked. The younger girl scrambled to find an escape route, but the man had caught her.

The older girl stood in the middle of the bakery, too scared to know what to do. She couldn't leave her sister!

"You thieves are in big trouble!" The guard caught the older girl and took them both to pay for their crimes.

Laura and the boys arrived at their stop and took a short walk to a large mansion.

"Alright, the guy who lives here is going to pay me, so if you steal anything, all three of us are kicked out without money." Laura stated, "So keep your greedy hands to yourself and don't touch anything!"

"But what if it was something small like a watch?"

"_No." _

"Dammit…"

"Careful of your language tol." Laura reminded as she knocked on the door. One of the housekeepers answered and took them to the man who owned this building.

"You must be the wizard my father told me about." The man jeld his hand out. Laura shook it. He wore a suit like his father, and had slicked back hair filled with hair products.

"Your children?" He asked.

Laura shook her head, "I just watch over them."

"Ah I see. My wife and I planned to have kids, but there's no chance of that, sadly."

Not Knowing how to respond, Laura just kept silent.

"Anyways, you're not here to listen to me talk about my life. The package?"

"The lacrima; It's right…" Laura rummaged through her bag, not able to find it. _Oh, shit…_

"Here you go." Dobengal handed over the paper package to the man.

"Thank you, young man." He smiled. The boy didn't know how to explain how he felt. It's the first time someone had reacted nicely after meeting him.

"Now, how much do I owe…?" The man counted his money before handing it to Laura, who graciously took it. Those brats robbed her of so much money…

"You look after some very nice kids." He said.

"Trust me, they can be worse." She gritted her teeth, still confused on why Donbegal gave instead of took. Well, he did take the package when she wasn't looking. It must have been during the fight. She would've known, otherwise.

"Does this mean you can teach me magic, now?" Dobengal asked.

"Me too!" Orga added with excitement.

"No. I need to find you an orphanage. There's no way I'm spending my time teaching you anything!"

"If I may," The man intervened, "We were looking to adopt at some point. Two boys would fill this house with so much noise. It gets rather quiet."

"Eh…" Laura looked at the boys, then back at the man, the back at the boys. Could she actually get rid of them? That simple?

Somehow, some way, Dobengal and Orga ended up with rich foster parents. Laura waved goodbye and headed to the train station. She might be able to make it to Magnolia before tomorrow if she hurried.

She boarded the train and had trouble finding the quietest spot. This town had way more people.

She couldn't wait to sleep in her own bed. With this money, she could probably buy a new one and have plenty leftover for special shampoos and a fancy hairbrush. Maybe she could get her hair done at a salon!

The Akusa manor had filled with noise ever since they adopted two boys into the family, but it was more of a chaotic noise than the happy sounds of children playing.

Barely an hour passed when the younger and older boy decide it's time to leave. One has never had a family, and the other didn't like his. There's no way they'd be shackled to the rules of a mother and father anytime soon.

They jumped out one of the oversized windows, leaving shattered glass everywhere.

They ran away with hands full of valuables. The younger boy had food and some shiny objects, kunais stuffed in his pockets. The older boy had plenty of books and food.

They weren't bad at stealing, the woman was just too good of a thief to fall for anything.


	11. Chapter 11

Laura sat at a table in the guildhall. There were only a few guildmates inside including Lyla. She stood with Mirajane and another wizard as they stared at a chart drawn by a light pen. Laura hadn't heard of one until recently, but it was a magical pen that can be used to draw anything anywhere, even in the air.

As more wizards started to gather around them, Laura had less and less interest to check it out. She recognized the chart. Not the words, but she'd seen this type of picture before. Sipping from a cup of water, Laura glanced to the side. Just for a second, but she saw one word. A single word with letters she recognized. They were letters she could sound out and understand when they were together.

Without realizing it, she stood up and walked up to the chart, staring at the one word. It was circled, sitting next to two other circled words. She sounded it out slowly in her head. It's been a while since she had seen it.

"Welcome back, Master!" Mirajane greeted in her annoyingly squeaky voice. Laura turned around to see Master Makarov. She had been too focused to hear his footsteps.

"You might have missed a point there…" Lyla said to Mirajane, placing her hand on her shoulder. Laura must have zoned out enough to miss a bit of context too.

"But, Master, what do you mean by that?" Erza asked.

"Oracion Seis' recent activity was the focus of much discussion at the conference." He explained. So they were talking about Oracion Seis?

Laura had heard of them a few times. They were a part of the Barum Alliance along with a guild called Grimoire Heart and Tartaros. She can't recall Oracion having many guild members. They had about five or six but were powerful nonetheless.

"We will take them down before they can harm any of our fellow guilds we were sworn to protect."

"And we gotta do all the heavy lifting, right?" Gray figured. Laura knew of Oracion Seis' leader. Fairy Tail wouldn't be able to do this alone.

To everyone's surprise except her, Fairy Tail would be joining a coalition. Makarov said they'd join forces with Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Caitshelter.

Laura gave Lyla a look. The younger woman had the choice to either listen to it or ignore it.

"I'll be one of Fairy Tail's representatives!"

And she chose to ignore it…

Master Makarov sighed, "Those who will meet with the other guilds have already been chosen, and I have not picked you."

Lyla crossed her arms and backed into the group of wizards.

"Let's go back to our place. I can cook something for us." Laura suggested. They hadn't eaten yet and were trying to save money at the moment.

Lyla's shoulders tensed. Without a word, she teleported out of the guild. Laura silently cursed. She didn't want to be left alone with all of these wizards.

After Master Makarov made his announcements, Laura stomped back to the house. She burst through the door, yelling, "You really had to leave me with all those strangers?!"

"They aren't strangers. Their our guildmates." Lyla replied calmly as she dragged a large suitcase down the stairs, "There's Reedus, Juvia, Elfman, Lucy, Mirajane-"

"Don't know their names, don't care. What are you doing with that bag?"

Lyla took a heavy sigh of breath after placing the suitcase safely on the wooden floor. "Pack your things too. We're going to go on a little trip."

_

Laura lay on the cloth roof of the cart Lyla drove. Salamander, Titania, Blondy, Talking Cat, and "Ice Princess" -as Lyla would sometimes call him- sat inside the cart.

The woman tried to take a nap, but Blondy complained and worried over fighting Oracion Seis while Salamander died from motion sickness.

"And why am I here? I'm not all that strong. It's not like I'm gonna be able to help you guys anyway!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Look, this ain't no picnic for me either. So quit pouting, would ya?" Gray asked. And for once, Laura agreed with someone other than Lyla. They all just needed to shut up.

"I just… wanna… get… there." Natsu grunted in pain. He was still conscious?

"Good news! The meeting place isn't too far from here!" Lyla turned her head to give him the "good" news.

Everyone jumped and screamed in surprise. They hadn't told them that they'd be coming along. The girls just sorta snuck on.

"What are you doing here?!" Happy exclaimed.

"Driving. Oh, Laura's here too."

The woman popped her head from above the cart, complaining about her aching ears rather monotonously.

At last, Lyla stopped the drive and everyone got off.

"Finally, I get to rest." Laura yawned, closing her eyes. She heard someone's fingers snap and a black hole appeared under the woman, sucking her in. She popped out of a second one on the dirt floor.

"You're coming with me." Lyla pointed at her, her mask down, "We came to fight, not nap."

Reluctantly, Laura stood up and followed Lyla to the front doors of the nice-looking building. The younger girl opened them to reveal an unlit hall with a large carpet leading to a marble staircase in the middle.

Erza told them this was Master Bob's second home, who was the guild master of Blue Pegasus.

The heart-shaped wall lights lit up, revealing hearts and pink as the designs of the building.

Laura heard the jingle of a tambourine shortly followed by a young man's voice that said, "Yes, they're here at last!"

"At last!" Two other male voices echoed.

"Hey hey hey hey! Hello!"

"Hello!"

"Fairy!"

"Fairy!"

"Tail!"

"Tail!"

"Wizards!!!" They all finished together. A spotlight shined on three men standing at the bottom of the staircase. One was younger than Laura with blonde hair, another had wild dirty blonde hair, and the third was tall with dark skin and black hair.

"We are…"

"...the Blue Pegasus…"

"...elite crew."

"The Trimens." They said together. This would get annoying really quick. Laura glared at Lyla for bringing her here. The girl responded with a confused look about the men.

"Hundred nights: Hibiki." The one with dirty blonde hair introduced.

"Holy night Eve." The child with blonde hair and blue eyes followed. He might be around Lyla's age.

"Still night: Ren." The taller man with a short black ponytail and brown eyes finished. Great, three more names Laura can forget.

Lucy started fangirling over them. Something about Hibiki being on a bachelor's list? Sorcerer Weekly's something about a thing with a side of Laura doesn't really care.

"And we gotta put up with these idiots for how long?" She asked her friend, agitated. Lyla weakly chuckled in response.

The blonde child came up to her, complimenting her. Laura could punch someone right now with these obvious playboys, but it was quite comical watching her friend get flustered.

"You can kill a dark guild with the flick of your finger, but can't deal with a nice word or two?" She teased, smiling devilishly.

The voice of the tall man snuck up behind Laura, whispering, "I can't take my eyes off you. You're just so hot."

Her cheeks pink with rage, Laura threw her fists up his jaw. "Say it again! I dare you! Come on, I'll show you what hot really is!" Laura growled while Lyla restrained her.

"Keep in mind that can be taken out of context…" Lyla spoke quietly to her.

"If I had Salamnder's firepower I would scorch you into- Mphrf m nph!"

Lyla sighed. Laura freed herself from her arms and sort of calmed down. Ren had already moved to Lucy. He deserved to get punched.

After more flirting along with angered and confused looks and thoughts, Laura, Erza, Lyla, and Lucy were seated on an expensive-looking couch.

"Well, you ladies must be exhausted. Feel free to spend the night." Hibiki said to them. Laura raised an eyebrow.

"Calm down, men." A fourth voice ordered as it walked down the stairs. "Give these ladies some breathing room.

Lucy fangirled over the silky smooth voice this fourth voice had. Laura just wished she was asleep in the cart, or better, back at the house.

"Yes, Ichiya, sir." Ren replied.

"Him? Oh dear…" Erza didn't sound too thrilled. Had those two met before.

"It's been far too long, Miss Scarlet."

Laura and Lyla looked at each other as if to say, "Yep, yeah, they know each other…"

Ichiya had a head full of red hair and a cleft chin. His height… there wasn't much of it… He could be just above Laura's waist at the tallest.

He slid down the railing of the stairs by his toes. Hibiki, Ren, and Eve shot confetti as the four of them continued with their strange introductions. Laura's disdain for them grew more by the second. These men were definitely an annoying and crazy bunch, but Fairy Tail still had the lead.

"Listen up you Blue Pegasus playboy wannabes! You'd be wise to keep your hands off these ladies." Gray exclaimed. Laura couldn't have worded it better herself. Well, she could, but it would be worse than the types of words Lyla uses.

Gray and Natsu started picking a fight with the Blue Pegasus trio. Erza tried breaking it up but got jittery as Ichiya started sniffing whatever perfume she put on.

"You got the crazy ears and he's got the crazy nose. All you need now is someone with crazy eyesight and taste, then you got the 'Four Faces'!" Lyla teased her.

Laura growled, "Like hell, I would team up with that pervert… And say that awful title again and I'll smash ya!"

Lyla smiled, "Trademarked by yours truly!"

Watching Ichiya fly by them broke their conversation. He would have almost flown into a young man if he hadn't used ice magic to freeze his head. At least that creep could shut up.

"You dare to greet us with this flying buffoon?" The young man frowned. Gray seemed to know him, and Natsu seemed excited he joined a guild.

Laura didn't have to say anything for Lyla to start explaining. This man, Lyon, had been an enemy they fought when going on an S-Class job a while ago. She heard only wizards like Erza and Mirajane could go on S-Class jobs, but she didn't need that information right now.

Lyon threw Ichiya across the room, the ice-breaking when his head hit the floor. He tumbled to the Pegasus trio's feet a little after that.

"What's the matter with you, bastard?!" Lyla exclaimed in fury.

"He was the one who attacked me."

The carpet started moving, a woman's voice echoing in the room. A woman with long pink hair and blue eyes had been using her magic to control it. Lucy called her Sherry.

Too many wizards, and apparently too much bad history with each other. Laura didn't know what to do, but she would fight whoever attacked her first with no problem.

A staff hit the ground, breaking the thick air in the room.

"Enough!" A man's powerful voice yelled from the front doors, "We're here to work together as a group to destroy the Oracion Seis! This is not the time for us to fight amongst ourselves."

He had no hair and plenty of muscles. He seemed to be the owner of the staff since he held it in his hand. Lyon called him Jura.

"He's a Great Wizard Saint. Insanely strong." Lyla explained to Laura simply.

"Nice to know." She whispered back.

"Funny, our guild only needed to send three members. Four from Blue Pegasus and six from Fairy Tail?" Sherry taunted Lucy.

Lyla slid into the conversation. "Actually… Me and Laura snuck here on our own."

"Disobeying your master's orders?"

"You know it! All credit goes to me!" Lyla gave a smug smile, "Oh, and I can take you down with one spell, so try not to test me."

Jura pointed out that Caitshelter's wizards hadn't arrived yet. Ichiya mentioned they were actually sending only one.

"That's insane! We're supposed to be up against a powerful group here!" Gray exclaimed. Everyone in the room shared his shocked expression.

"How crazy intense is this guy going to be?" Lucy asked in a shaky voice.

They all heard a child's small shriek behind them. They turned around to see a little girl with long blue hair in a blue and yellow striped dress. She stood up and patted herself off.

"Hi…" She stuttered, "I, uh… I'm sorry I got here so late. I've come from the Caitshelter guild." She smiled cutely, which Laura sneered at. She introduced herself as Wendy.

The whole room fell in silence, still processing the fact that the one wizard from Caitshelter happened to be a young girl.

"Jeez, Lucy, assuming this wizard was a guy? Sexist." Lyla mumbled the last word.

**A/N: **Hello! Still not dead! Although it's debatable if that's a good thing or not. Anyway! I'm back. Me and my bestie have decided that we'll upload a new chapter every other Monday. So, since that's said, I hope you all had a good New Years celebration. Enjoy and peace. Keep being awesome.


	12. Chapter 12

The room expressed their awe over Caitshelter sending just one girl for such a dangerous mission, but Laura could hear something special about her magic. It sounded similar to Natsu's in a way. She could tell Lyla sensed it too.

"Now then, since all guilds are present, we can begin," Jura announced.

"He's not even phased by this?!" Gray exclaimed.

"Obviously," Laura said to him.

"How are _you _not freaked out by this?!"

"You don't underestimate someone because of their age."

That got him to shut up. Laura sighed before she added, "But it's still concerning she's by herself."

"She isn't on her own. You shouldn't jump to conclusions like that."

They all turned their attention to the white cat who walked from behind Wendy, fully clothed, unlike Happy.

"Carla, you followed me here?" The little girl asked.

"Of course I did. You're far too young to travel unaccompanied, child."

"Oh, great. There's two of them now!" Laura turned around and paced in circles. As if Happy wasn't annoying enough…

Lyla tried calming her down. She at least got the woman to stand still and listen while Ichiya briefed their mission.

First, they had to locate the Oracion Seis. After a quick bathroom break, he returned to talk about something called Nirvana. It was a type of destruction magic Oracion was looking after in the Woodworth Sea.

With a snap of Hibiki's fingers, a screen and keypad made of golden magic appeared in front of him.

"Archive magic. Haven't seen a wizard with that magic in a while." Lyla spoke to herself.

Laura turned her head and whispered, "Didn't you practice that at some point?"

"Been a while. I might still be able to use 'Data Shield', but it's pretty useless."

Six screens appeared in front of the group, each with a picture of an Oracion Seis member.

Hibiki started with Cobra, who had a giant purple snake loosely coiled around him. That might be where he got his name from.

Next was a wizard with a long blonde mohawk and his shaved hair brown. He goes by the name Racer and Blue Pegasus assumes he uses speed magic. It would make sense in all honesty.

"Divine Eyes Hot Eye" He went by. This third man had an oddly shaped face with long orange hair. He could wipe out even a whole military if he got paid enough.

Angel -the only girl in Oracion- had short white hair and a very revealing white feathered dress and long blue gloves.

The fifth picture showed a young man with his head down. He sat cross-legged on a floating carpet, his arms crossed. All they knew was his name to be Midnight.

The last picture made Lyla nearly charge at it. Laura quickly grabbed her arm to keep her in check. They both hated him more than anything. If he were dead long ago, their lives would be completely different.

"Finally, the commander of Oracion Seis, Brain." Hibiki finished, "There you have it. _Alone_, they could wipe out entire guilds. So together, they're unstoppable." The golden flatscreens disappeared.

"So our only advantage is numbers," Lyla stated through a shaky growl.

"Curb your fear, for there is more to the operation than mortal combat," Ichiya reassured, making another of his odd poses. If they found their stronghold and eradicate it, they could launch a machine called Christina to destroy everything.

Punching his flaming fists together, Natsu yelled, "Let's go! I'm all fired up!" Then absolutely demolished the front doors as he bolted with no directions in mind.

"This idiot gives me way to many headaches…" Laura placed her fingers on her temples.

"Please, bitch, you barely spend time with anyone."

"Oh, shut up and let's go." Laura ran after him and the rest of the Fairy Tail wizards, Lyla just at her heels.

"Have any idea where we're going?" The girl shouted.

"Wherever Salamander takes us, I guess. It's better than sitting and waiting for something to happen."

As they ran, Lyon, Shelly, and the Trimens caught up to them. Underneath the sound of their footsteps, Laura heard Jura's voice cry in pain. Three other voices didn't belong to their allies.

"Lyla! The building!"

"You keep going! I got this!" And then she teleported to take care of the problem.

Laura turned back to see she was about to run off a cliff. She skidded to a halt, rocks, and dirt tipping over the edge. Erza had caught the collar of her cloak before she slipped off.

"Careful, or you would've fallen like Natsu." She warned.

"That idiot's not dead?"

"No, but we should follow him so I can kill him." She clenched her armored fist.

"That's what he gets for challenging Erza," Gray said casually.

Laura sighed. She better get paid for this crap, even if they _did _sneak their way here.

The wizards made their way down the cliff and ran after Natsu. As they ran, a giant shadow floated above them. Laura at first assumed it was a cloud, but slowed to a stop when she saw what it was.

"That's the magic bomb," Erza stated to everyone. Christina? It was a giant metallic pegasus with blue, purple, and gold paint. As it flew past them, there seemed to be what resembled the top of a boat where the crew would work.

"I'm flying the bomber thing!" Natsu called out.

"Not happening," Gray spoke Laura's thoughts.

She jumped at the loud explosion on the side of Christina. Her ears started to ring and she felt something trickle out of one. Yep, blood. She's surprised she isn't deaf yet.

More little pops of explosions from Christina. Laura thought about the people flying that thing. She hoped they didn't have families.

When the flying bomb started to dive towards the earth, Laura braced herself by crouching down and pressing her hands to her ears as much as possible.

Smoke, plenty of it. The blinding fiery glow made the sun seem dark. Laura's ears rang, unable to catch any sound. When the sound of the explosion died down to the crackling fire and the awful stench of smoke, she saw her hands were covered in blood. She silently cursed to herself.

She felt something touch her ear. She almost punched Wendy, who stood on her toes to reach the woman.

It looked like she said something, but the ringing left no room for Laura to hear anything else. Wendy slowly held her hand up to her ear again. A soft aqua glow emitted from her hand. The ringing diminished in that one ear, to Laura's surprise. Everything sounded softer, but she could make out what other people said.

She managed to muster up a simple thanks.

"It's no problem. I'm glad I'm able to help, even if I can't fight."

Before Laura could ask to fix the other ear, Wendy saw something in front of them and ran to hide behind a large rock in the wide dirt road they stood on.

Laura saw what the girl reacted to. From the smoke emerged six figures. Five men, one woman. One man, in particular, set her blood boiling. He had a deep tan, long white hair, and black stripes all over his body. He walked with a staff using a skull with a glass orb in its mouth at the top.

"Lowly maggots; Swarming together." He spoke in a raspy voice. Laura could just rip his vocal cords out at the sound of him. That's what she'd do.

Before anything else could happen, Laura charged at the man. "Brain, you fuck! Die!"

Racer, the man with the blonde mohawk, cut off her threats by kicking her abdomen with lighting fast speed. She almost puked and got thrown to the side, coughing drops of blood when she hit the hard dirt ground.

"You don't mess with a Fairy Tail wizard, buddy." Gray's hand glowed with ice magic.

"Especially when you deserve the beat down we give ya!" Natsu yelled, charging at the enemies with gray. Racer vanished, appearing behind the wizard to attack them as well.

"Natsu!" Two of Lucy's exclaimed. Some magic trick, but Laura only focused on Brain.

She stood to her feet, trying to keep her balance. She bolted back at the man's direction, hopping on Hoteye's head and sliding under Angle's copy of Lucy and her whip she always carried. Racer was busy with other wizards. That Midnight guy still slept the day away. She had a clear shot.

Laura came from behind, leaping into the air and planning to shoot a beam of sound so powerful it went straight through Brain's skull.

She heard something to her left, however. She spun midair and kicked the snake up its stupid jaw. She flew over Brain and landed flat on her back, gasping for the air knocked out of her.

She saw Brain grinning like the idiotic bastard he was. It made her sick. She wished Lyla were here just so he could be finished off.

She heard the snake coming to attack her again. Laura created a pink dome around her, her ear clogged with blood not affected, but her other ear getting worse.

The snake bit down on the dome, it's fangs creating crack. Laura spun her head to Cobra: the man with a white clock, fangs, and maroon hair. She gave him a look of crazed fury. She had no time to put up with this shit.

When the dome shattered to dust, magic circles appeared under Laura's feet. Sound waves boomed from them, sending her back before the snake could snap her in half.

She picked herself up gracefully and turned to Cobra. Looks like she'll have to hand the ass-beating to Lyla.

"Impressive, you're able to react so quickly to my attacks." He spoke. Her eyebrows furrowed.

With a grin, he continued, "But let's see if you can keep up, especially with your ears like that."

Her eyes widened. Racer appeared behind her and kicked her to the ground. She would have blocked his future attacks, but she had no time to hear his movements.

Screaming a battle cry, she slammed her palm to the ground, the sound from her shout blowing Racer yards back and Cobra skidding back a few inches.

"Alright, now you're-" Cobra cut himself off when Erza tried attacking him from behind. He somehow predicted the woman's moves and sent his snake to bite her arm.

Natsu cried out Erza's name. Laura snarled and stood up, then charged at Cobra. A magic circle glowed from her hand. She planned to grab his face and deafen him with a powerful blow of sound magic, but he grabbed her arm and twisted it. Even with her blood clogged ears, she swore she could hear a pop.

"I can hear you." He growled. His palm hit her side and the blast of sound magic would have ripped her arm off if he didn't let go. She fell to the floor, staying down with an arm in horrible condition.

With everyone down, Brain spoke, "Pathetic trash. You shall be no more."

He cast his staff, green magic fumes rising from the shaking ground. "Dark Rondo!" He stopped, staring at something. Laura saw Wendy still behind the rock, untouched from any attacks.

"No doubt about it. That's Wendy…" Brain rambled on, "The Maiden of the Sky!"

Laura shared the same expression as everyone else. What did he need from Wendy? Oh, she would kill him for sure.

Brain used his staff to cast a spell that dragged Wendy away. The talking cats chased after her, but only Happy took her hand and they were swept away together.

"I have no use for you." Brain referred to the rest, "Begone!" A dark green orb formed at his staff, beams of magic flying out and threatening to supposedly kill the wizards. That's all Laura expected from this man.

Some people tried blocking the blow for others. Laura only planned to create a sound dome around her to soften the blow, but Jura came in and used earth magic to block Brain's spell from everyone.

Lyla came racing not far behind. She fell to her knees and skidded to Laura's side.

"Damn. Your ears." She said with a muffled voice.

Laura tried keeping her volume in check when replying with, "I got a little mad…"

Lyla didn't even have to ask why. She mumbled an agreement. Both girls shared a moment of painful silence.

They preferred fake mourning over Christina's fall and the injuries everyone else had gained. Laura didn't care, personally.

She just wanted something to distract her from Brain for a few seconds. This distraction would take longer, however…

Carla the talking cat pointed out Erza, who leaned against a tree in agony. He clutched her arm, which had purple magic coursing through.

"That's where Cobra's snake bit her. It must be venomous." Laura stated with a mellow voice.

How were they going to get through this one?

**A/N:** Quick update on our posting schedule! The first and third Mondays are when we'll be posting, so look out for that. Thanks for reading.


	13. Chapter 13

Ichiya tried healing parfum, but it did not affect. Erza shivered, clutching her purple arm. She continued to groan in agony. Laura felt somewhat relieved she couldn't hear too well.

Lyla had talked about Angel, the girl to the Oracion Seis. Angel was a celestial spirit wizard with a contract to a spirit named Gemini, who could copy the appearance and recent memories of anyone they see. She was the reason the rest of Oracion learned the allied forces' plans and shot down Christina. Luckily, no one was on the ship. Eve said it was remotely controlled and they were supposed to take over later.

After informing everyone about this, Lyla had slipped away and teleported somewhere. Laura didn't say anything about it.

Laura was forced back to reality when Erza took Lucy's belt that held up her skirt. She wrapped it tightly right beneath her shoulder where Cobra's poison hasn't spread head.

"Just what are you going to do with that?" Lucy asked.

Laura already knew the answer.

"It's harsh, but it's the only way I can keep fighting," Erza said, taking off her glove and biting on the cloth. She threw her sword with the blade stabbing the dirt ground. "Somebody cut it off."

Everyone gasped.

"At least give us time to find an antidote!" Gray begged.

"We don't have time."

_Wendy. _Laura felt that girl's magical power. So similar to Natsu's, yet less destructive…

Lyon walked up to the sword, clutching the grip and lifting it from the ground.

"Put down down the sword!" Gray commanded, but Erza's wishes counteracted his. Sherry jumped in, trying to defend Lyon, but Lucy bit back. Insult, anger, and pain left no room to breathe. Laura couldn't take a big enough gulp of air.

Lyon walked up to Erza, raising the sword. He swung down and Laura expected a clean-cut, but ice shards cracked and shattered instead.

Gray stood in front of Lyon, using ice from his hands to stop the blade. He so desperately wanted everyone to stop and find another solution. Laura had found one, or she assumed.

"Wendy," Laura spoke. Everyone turned to her. All those eyes. She couldn't run. There's no use running. She hasn't been caught either. She can't get caught. "Can't Wendy help her?"

"She right." Carla said, "This is no time to be bickering amongst ourselves. We need to work together to come up with a plan to rescue Wendy."

Laura kept her mouth shut from her, lowering her head. She nudged the ball and Carla kept it rolling. She had nothing more to do but let everyone catch up to what she already knew.

She noticed Lyla teleport behind the wizards from blue pegasus. Laura gave her a look to tell her where they were in this situation. Lyla seemed to understand.

"That's crazy. Everyone knows healing spells are lost magic." Sherry commented.

"It is not. In fact, Wendy is the Sky Dragon Slayer. She's Wendy the sky dragon."

Laura didn't react as surprised as the rest. Her suspicions had simply been confirmed.

"You guys couldn't solve that sooner? Oh, you're all idiots. Of course." Lyla said, announcing herself to the group and making the pegasus trio jump.

"Hey, when did you get here?!" Gray questioned.

"I've always been here." The teen smirked.

Oh, how lies came so easily to them. A skill that let them make it this far.

Everyone gathered together and agreed to split up and look for Wendy. Everyone became determined and had risen their spirits. Natsu wanted Happy back, and they all knew Wendy would be valuable to save their friend. Laura only wondered how quickly these people would jump to their feet if Wendy didn't know any healing spells.

Lamia scale searched together, Blue Pegasus traveled the other way, and Fairy Tail went with Carla. Lucy and Hibiki said they would stay to look after Erza.

"I'll go this way. Shout if you need me." Laura pointed in a direction no one else had gone yet. She tried to keep her volume steady with her blood clotted ears.

"Ha! Nice shot, but you missed." Lyla took Laura's wrist and pulled her along with the rest of Fairy Tail.

"I can handle things on my own."

"Don't care!"

Laura growled, accepting her fate and running along with her guildmates. Carla led the way using white feathered wings to fly. Happy could do this too. Some specific magic their species possessed.

Carla answered Natsu's questions about Wendy. She was raised by the sky dragon Grandeenay before they disappeared seven years ago. Wendy also ate air to gain energy. Like how Natsu ate fire and the Iron Dragon Slayer ate metal. Laura believed his name to be Gajeel?

Natsu ran right into an uprooted tree, falling to the ground. This made Lyla burst into laughter. Laura tried hiding her smirk.

She heard a gasp of air. The Fairy Tail wizards turned to Carla, then they saw what she gasped at. Ahead of them was a forest of pure black trees. Tainted magic created fog too thick to run through with more encounters like what Natsu had just experienced.

Laura's guildmates turned behind them. She followed them to see two large men approaching them. Laura cursed under her breath that she couldn't hear them sooner.

One man had blond hair, the other had a black afro. Both had faces resembling a monkey's.

"Word on the street is it's caused by Nirvana. Ain't that right, Big Bro Zatou?" The blond one asked.

"Oh yeah. Magic so powerful the planet can't take it." The other said, "Everything it touches withers up and dies, Big Bro."

Countless other monkey-like men gathered in the trees, howling and laughing. Lyla and Laura stood back-to-back. Laura felt glad she didn't have to hold back. Her ears were already ruined so there would be no penalties fighting these chimps.

"Those two gotta be the dumbest monkey's I've ever seen!" Natsu exclaimed, so excited he danced like an actual monkey.

"I found a third…" Laura murmured through gritted teeth. Lyla chuckled, then wrapped her arm around Laura's.

"I trust you two can handle them. We'll get ya if we find Wendy and Happy." She told Natsu and Gray before teleporting away. They appeared on the other side of the dark section of the forest.

Laura's head started to spin and her stomach felt uneasy. She can't recall ever teleporting before. "We should rest…" She sat cross-legged on the ground. Lyla leaned against a giant tree trunk.

Laura took deep breaths of air, her head steadying and the pain slowly fading away. A few minutes had passed and neither of the girls had moved more than an inch

"Will we keep running?" Laura asked.

"We should. It would be easier if I could find Brain. Thanks to Nirvana I can't read anything."

Laura pointed at her ears. "I'm as useless as you."

"So yes, we should keep running."

The older woman nodded and stood up, continuing at Lyla's side. Whatever Natsu and Gray were doing, she could hear muffled explosions behind them. It must be one hell of a fight if she could hear it so well.

She could hear something else. Something in front of them. Hopefully, it would help her hear it clearer. She sprinted ahead and arrived at a wide river. She almost skidded into the rushing water when falling to her knees and plunging her head in. She shook her head before lifting her head and gasping for air. She rubbed and hit her ears, trying to get the tried blood out. There was so much that it gave the water a red tinge.

"You got it?" Lyla snarked.

Laura wiped her face with her cloak, then snapped her fingers by her ears. "They're not completely healed, but the blood's cleaned out."

"Wendy could probably fix that for you."

"She should if she knows healing magic." Laura stood up and took the lead, "Let's keep going. I hear magic down the water."

They walked, following the river. Laura could hear Wendy's magic, but she soon heard Brain's magic as well. Lyla sensed it too judging by her twisted snarl.

They stopped when seeing a waterfall ahead. It dipped into a tall crater. Several more waterfalls coming from all directions did the same. At the bottom of the crater was a small island with some grass.

Lyla sat down with her eyes closed, staying like that for a short while before speaking. "Yep. Brain's down there with five more. I don't recognize two of them." She opened her eyes to look at Laura, who sucked in a stream of air then slowly blew out.

"I just got my hearing back though…"

"Hmph," Lyla smirked, "I'd keep your hands too full to be able to fight."

Laura opened her mouth but stopped herself. She had a point there… "We rescue those two then ditch it." She stopped when she remembered, "What about Dragon Breath and Snow Queen?"

"Huh, guess I _did _say that." Upon standing up, she vanished for a second then reappeared with Natsu, Gray, and Carla standing behind her. "Below you." She told the three of them.

Laura watched Natsu walk up to the edge, shouting, "Happy! Wendy!"

She jumped, not expecting him to alert the enemy so recklessly.

"Hey! Quiet! Our enemy might be hiding down there!" Carla hissed

"He's dumb. If he can't use brute strength he's useless."

"How long have you been here? And how many people have you talked to lately?" Lyla questioned Laura, standing up.

"Please, Salamander is the most annoying out of all of us."

A point to Laura. Lyla just shrugged and accepted defeat.

Laura sensed something. She heard someone's magic. And before she could think anymore about it, a blur zipped by them and almost pushed Laura off of the cliff.

The wizard's name was Racer if she recalled correctly. He had a long nose with a blonde mohawk and red and white clothes. He ran up a tree and stood on one of the taller branches so it would be harder to land an attack.

"I can handle this. You guys need to get down there and help them." Gray told the others.

Racer smirked, jumping off of the branch, "You'll stay right here!" He then slipped on Gray's tower of ice, hitting the ground with a thud.

Laura saw Carla was out of commission from Racer running into them. "Where do we go?"

"Use this instead!" Gray created a spiraling slide down to the island. Natsu picked up Carla and slid down on his feet. Lyla hopped on and followed behind. Laura cautiously got on and came last. The ice froze through her clothes. Not like she was chilly from the weather anyway…

She nudged herself down the slide and let gravity do its own thing. She slid down faster and faster, being pushed against the ice. Below she saw Lyla had fallen on top of Natsu. They weren't getting up quick enough. Laura couldn't help but shriek like a child as she reached the end and fell on top of Lyla. She quickly stood up and sidestepped out of the way.

Lyla stood up and stared, "Did you…?"

"A word of this and you're dead!" Laura spat, stomping ahead. Lyla caught back up and they entered together. Inside they saw Wendy crying on the floor, apologizing as if she'd done unspeakable things. Brain stood across from her, his face a smug grin Laura wanted to tear off.

Laura noticed Lyla clutch onto the mask over her eye. Something triggered her. It could be Brain, it could be the injured wizard and cat, or it could be the young man that stared at them with eyes Laura couldn't read.

He had blue hair and a red tattoo on his right eye, He wore a sleeveless black shirt with pants and boots. Lyla reacted harshly to the sight of him. Laura could hear his magic, but she couldn't determine what kind it was. She had never come across his magic before.

"Jellal." She heard her friend hiss.


	14. Fourteenth

Jellal, a man who had done something horrible enough to trigger Lyla. Laura gripped her shoulder, the touch thankfully getting her back on track. She couldn't do the same for Natsu, who charged at Jellal with a fire burning from his fist. The new man sent a powerful blast of golden magic that took Laura by surprise. How powerful was he?!

"I feel your condition hasn't diminished your power," Brain said to Jellal. He replied with a dead gaze. A swipe of his hand and the ground beneath Brain crumbled before him. The dust from the attack cleared up to show nothing but rubble.

Laura pressed her hands on Lyla's shoulders, knowing she would cause the whole cave to collapse if no one grounded her. She heard Lyla's shuddering breath as Jellal walked out of the cave. He didn't make eye contact with anyone. His eyes didn't even focus on anything.

Lyla brushed Laura's hands off of her, reassuring her that she would be okay. Laura simply nodded. She had missed something during their time apart, but right now they had to return to Erza.

Happy flew Natsu to the waterfalls. Carla did the same for the unconscious Wendy. The girls waited for Happy to return and collect them. Lyla placed her finger over her lips. Laura understood, then the other girl melted into the shadows.

Good timing. Happy had just arrived.

"Where did Lyla go?" He asked.

"She chased after the man that attacked Natsu."

The flying cat looked worried but believed her words. He grabbed the back of her cloak and flew her to the others. Wendy still hadn't woken up.

"I'll carry Wendy. Tomcat, you shall carry the others." Carla ordered. Happy seemed to have no problem listening to her. Each paw took the backs of Laura and Natsu and the group flew back to Erza, Lucy, and Hibiki. Happy seemed to be struggling, but Laura didn't say anything.

_Don't talk. Don't breathe. Don't move. Become nothing. Nothing can be everywhere since there had to be something to be nothing. What something didn't take up, nothing filled._ She could get around like this. No matter how much her muscles ached or how desperately she wanted to take a large gulp of oxygen, she couldn't do anything.

_Don't think about the struggles, it made them worse._ It distracted her from the current task. She would die if her mind focused on anything but success. If she didn't succeed, they would kill her. Or she would get the worst of it and have to live through more agony before being tested again.

_Complaining about what hurt didn't help anyone. It made things take forever. It stopped people in their tracks. It kills other people whether they're innocent or not. But no one is innocent._

"Hey! Look out!"

Laura looked below her to see only a blur before someone kicked her and her guildmates to the ground. Her eyes widened as a rush of energy ran through her. She saw Racer growing smaller as she fell closer to the ground.

She fell into a tall tree, the branches breaking more bones than her fall. The wood scraped her skin and clothes, each new scratch burning more than the last. Laura hit the last of the branches and fell to the compact dirt.

"Come on! Hurry up!" Natsu shouted at her. He carried the talking cat under one arm and Wendy under the other. She turned to where he ran from and saw Racer chasing them. Gray created a wall of ice that stopped the enemy, but Laura still jumped up and ran.

"What are you waiting for?!" Laura hissed when Natsu stopped. He stared back at Gray, reluctant to leave.

"Listen to her and leave!"

Finally, Natsu continued down the trail, Laura keeping up his pace.

"Why did you stop?" She asked furiously.

"He looked like he used up a lot of his power. I wasn't sure if he could fight that guy on his own."

Laura scoffed, "You fight all the time. What do you care?"

"Because he's my friend."

That last sentence confused her. Friends enjoy each other's company and look out for one another. They aren't at each other's throats for every little thing that annoys them. Gray and Natsu fought and spat and yelled at each other. Did Gray just owe him something? Or did Natsu want the favor to be repaid later?

The two Fairy Tail wizards continued their way to Erza. Laura couldn't remember how long it's been since she's had to run this far in one go. At least her old guild did something for her.

Laura heard moaning. The blue cat had woken up after Racer attacked them.

"Where are we?" He asked.

Natsu responded with, "No talking. You gotta rest of, alright?"

"But Jellal is out there somewhere…"

"Who _is _Jellal?" Laura asked.

Natsu remained silent with a cold stare ahead. It seemed this blue-haired man wasn't popular with anyone.

"He was Erza's friend, but he changed and hurt everyone."

Laura would have asked more is a voice didn't call her. Salamander heard it too judging by him skidding to a stop with her.

"What's wrong. Why'd you stop?"

"Can you hear me?" The disembodied voice asked. It seems Happy couldn't hear it.

"This tree is talking to me."

Laura facepalmed. Even she knew this was the work of magic. She could hear this voice clear. It didn't come from her ears. It came from her mind. Someone was using telepathy.

"It's Hibiki," she told Natsu, who only continued a one-sided conversation with the tree.

"It's good to hear from you." Hibiki's voice said. "No one else has responded so far."

"You're a ventriloquist?"

Laura honestly couldn't make fun of Natsu after using such a big word.

"Keep your voice down. The enemy has scouts throughout the wood sea. There's no telling who could be listening in on us. That's why I'm speaking directly into your head."

Natsu couldn't process this information.

"What's your status? Have you found Wendy and the cat?"

Laura replied, "Salamander's carrying them. Happy is awake."

"That's wonderful. Now hang tight. I'm gonna upload a map into your mind. It will lead you straight into the temporary camp we set up."

While Natsu acted paranoid overusing the word "upload", Laura watched a blue bar fill with orange light above their heads. When it filled, an image appeared in Laura's mind. Natsu seemed to have gotten it too based on his reaction.

Without a word, they followed the map Hibiki had given them. Laura could see herself, Natsu, and even Erza a ways from here.

"Let me carry Wendy," Laura suggested.

"Huh? Why?"

"Doesn't look like you can carry three people all the way."

Natsu grinned and said, "You kidding? How weak do I look?"

Laura rolled her eyes. "Forget it." She didn't trust him. Why would he care about a girl and cat he just met a few hours ago? What if Wendy didn't have healing magic? Then would it be because she's a child? Adults don't have sympathy for children. At least not the ones Laura had met.

They were nearing Erza and the others. The rest of the alliance was still running around looking for the child. How would they get everyone together if Hibiki can't reach them?

Natsu ran ahead. He shook the bushes as he approached Lucy and Hibiki, startling them when he jumped out from the foliage.

"Ya miss me?"

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed.

Laura would complain about his volume control, but she wasn't having much luck with that either. Instead, she kept quiet while Natsu tried shaking Wendy awake. Lucy had some concerns, afraid he would hurt the poor girl, but Laura didn't see a problem since she woke up soon enough.

Once she opened her eyes, Wendy squealed and backed away. She curled in on herself, her hands over her head. She apologized for waking up Jellal. Still, so much Laura needed to understand.

She walked up to the sky dragon, crouching down and gently placing her hand on her head. Wendy looked up with confused eyes.

"This is better than whatever Brain would have done if you didn't wake Jellal." She reassured. Those big brown eyes didn't need any of this. She wouldn't be able to adapt to worse conditions.

Natsu got to his knees and bowed just before his head hit the ground. "Please. Erza was bitten by a poisonous snake. She's in bad shape. _Please! _Save her."

Lucy bowed down, begging just as much as Natsu. Laura would have seen these wizards as different if Hibiki hadn't tried persuading Wendy even more. He worded it like they only wanted to save Erza since she was the one they needed to defeat the Oracion Seis.

Wendy agreed to help, confident in her abilities. She walked over to Erza, whose purple arm had spread to her chest and face. With no effort at all, a soothing teal light glowed from her hands. The light diminished when she was done. She said they would all need to wait for Erza to wake up, but Laura felt her guildmates didn't have enough patience.

Natsu and Lucy stared at Erza, too much anxiety building up between them. They noticed the slightest twitch in her eyebrow and the scream of joy made Laura jump. Even being half deaf that hurt.

Speaking of which… Laura felt somewhat of a hypocrite, but she walked up to Wendy and asked, "M-my ears. I wanted to know if you could fix them."

"What's wrong with them?"

"I burst a couple of blood vessels in my inner ear…"

"Oh, okay. Well, let me-"

"That's enough, Wendy."

Laura turned to Carla. She looked furious. "You say you're fine but I can tell by that look on your face that you're not."

"No! I'm fine! Just worried…" Wendy pleaded further when Carla only stared at her, "Let me just use my magic one more time. I'll promise I'll rest afterward.

"No! Absolutely not."

But Wendy already reached out to Laura's ear. The Fairy Tail wizard bent down to give her an easier time. The same teal light glowed from her hands. Slowly, Laura started to hear more and more clearly. First her breathing, then Wendy's, then the rustling of the leaves, then the squirrel's scuttlings up the trees a short way from here. She could easily hear everyone's magic by the time Wendy had finished healing her. Laura had trouble suppressing a smile, but she managed.

Immediately afterward, Laura pressed her hands to her ears due to a loud explosion in the distance. The returned hearing was going to take a bit of readjustment. Her hearing was better than it had been in a while. A gigantic beam of white light shot up from the ground. Then dark shadows shot up and started swirling around it. It tainted the white pilar into something darker.

"It's been unsealed!" Hibiki shouted with panic, "That's Nirvana!"

"So… we failed?" Laura didn't sound too concerned. She never learned with this thing could do. Turn light magic into dark magic and vise versa? Who determined what's light and dark?

"Yeah, that has to be it," Hibiki confirmed.

"Seriously?! But how'd Oracion Seis beat us to the punch?" Lucy asked.

Laura turned to Natsu. His breathing quickened and his blood heated.

"I know Jellal's there." He said. Lucy didn't take this information lightly, but Salamander had already run off to find him.

Laura heard Wendy's shallow breathing and shaky words. She was panicking, terrified of what she had done to indirectly cause this.

"Wendy." She said, but the girl didn't hear her over her negative thoughts. Laura called her again. It made no difference. Laura was hesitant, but she started to approach Wendy and calm her down again. Carla's scream interrupted her, however. Everyone turned to the cat to see Erza had vanished from where she used to lay.

Carla complained about Erza's lack of a mere thanks while Happy suggested she ran off to find Jellal. Wendy had tears forming around her eyes. There was too much noise. Too many varying paces of breathing and heart rate and too many thoughts in Laura's head. She couldn't think, she couldn't hear anything other than these distractions. Laura didn't want to shout and drag the attention to her. There would be too many eyes.

"Christ's sake. SHUT UP!" Laura roared, sound magic collecting around her body and shooting out from all angles. Hibiki had simultaneously attacked the crying Wendy with a weak blast, but strong enough to knock her unconscious. Everything had finally stopped. Not even the leaves shuddered.

"Why did you shoot her?!" Lucy asked Hibiki.

"I'll explain as we go, but we need to find Natsu and Erza." He said as he picked up Wendy to carry her on his back. He led the way in the direction Natsu had run. Reluctantly, Lucy and the cats followed.

Laura was about to tail behind them when she heard a person's faint voice screamed, "I AM NOT JUST SOME TOY ANYMORE!" It sounded familiar and came from miles away. She turned to the source of the sound. It came from… the… cave…

Laura bolted straight ahead. She could hear everything now and knew when to jump or duck or climb. She made it to the circle of waterfalls soon enough to see Lyla casting one of her spells.

"Shadow Make, Lance: Multi-shot!" she cast her hands at Brain, dark purple magic circles appeared all around her on the ground. A lance from each circle shot out, aimed to go straight through her enemy.

Brain didn't flinch. When the lances were supposed to stab him, he disappeared and vanished from the land, but Laura still heard him.

He came up from the ground next to Lyla, casting a spell called "Dark Rondo." He had used this earlier right after shooting down Christina.

Laura took this as the perfect moment to leave. She leaped down the cliff, following the waterfall and splashing into the lake below her. She landed close enough to reach up, grab Lyla's waist, and pull her into the water with her before Brain's spell hit them.

Lyla fought her until they exchanged eye contact. The girl then teleported them to the edge of the cliff. Both coughed up water. Laura had prepared for a dive, so she had an easier time. She sat on her legs.

"That's the last time I let you do your own thing." Laura spat, furious.

Lyla coughed a bit more before retorting, "Hell if I-"

"Died? You're stupid!"

"He would have been dead by now!"

"You forgot how strong he is?!"

"A little longer and I would be in my 'Goldilocks' zone." Lyla growled, "And he wouldn't kill his past-time experiment.

Laura leaned back, her knees digging into the dirt. "The hell is a goldilocks zone?"

Lyla stayed silent for a few seconds as she came up with how to explain it. "Remember my eye?"

Laura nodded.

"I got it when I went to the tower. That place was taken over by Jellal afterward, but that's not what we're talking about. It took some time to notice, but my magic acts up when around too much magical power. My eye causes it."

"So Nirvana."

Lyla nodded, then stood up. "Where're the others?"

"'Barbecue' and that celestial spirit wizard aren't too far away." Laura stood up to jump ahead and lead the way, "We should hurry since the sun is setting."

"No shit, Sherlock."

Laura looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow. "The hell's that?"

Lyla thought for a while. Her only response was a shoulder shrug in the end. It seems she didn't even know what that was.


	15. Fifteenth

Sunsets were supposed to be pretty. Everyone loved watching the orange ball of light sneak behind the horizon and turning the warm pink and reds into a soothing deep blue. No matter how much she tried, the sun only reminded her of fire, and the night sky made her think of smoke. Nirvana did the opposite of ease her pain.

After much running, Laura felt relieved to find Natsu and Lucy unconscious on the ground. This problem would be easier to handle. A young woman with short pink hair wearing a maid's outfit stood by the wizards. Laura believed her name was Virgo? Lyla had talked about Lucy's celestial spirits before.

Lyla walked up to Natsu and Lucy, who wore matching night blue clothes with gold trimming.

"Were we interrupting something?" Lyla teased.

Lucy had begun to wake up as she approached. She looked at her own clothes, then at Natsu. Her whole face turned red. "Virgo did this! We're not dating!"

Lyla shrugged, "Guess I'll believe you." She then walked up to Virgo to talk.

Laura stayed put. They stood in a very small clearing of trees next to a river. The ground was covered in green grass and bushes with the orange sky changing their hue.

Down the river, Nirvana shot out from the ground. Happy said Jellal had done this. On his own free will? If he was willing to release magic that could send all wizarding guilds against each other, what on Earthland did he do when her guild last met him?

Wait... Nirvana-

"Nirvana! It changed." Laura tried her best to keep her voice steady, but seeing the pillar of light like this meant something bad was going to happen soon.

"Yes. The light changed from black to white while the two of you were unconscious." Virgo spoke to Lucy and Natsu.

There was no more black magic swirling inside Nirvana. Now it was only pure white. People assign "good" to the color white, but this could mean anything but that.

"Wait, where's Happy?" Natsu asked.

Laura looked around. Hibiki, Wendy, and the talking cats were somewhere, but not around here. She wondered what caused the group to split up.

She noticed Lyla looking at her for answers. Laura rolled her eyes. "We… were all separated. I heard you shouting and ran over. Erza ran away when we mentioned Jellal."

Lyla walked up and clapped her hand on Laura's shoulder, "Nice! I knew you could say more than two sentences!"

Laura grunted. They were wasting time.

"We should be running towards that light!" Natsu said. Laura wondered if he was psychic. The thought humored her.

Virgo bowed to the group, mainly Lucy. "I'm glad I could serve you, Princess. Until next time." Her body glowed a soft gold and reduced into nothing. She must have gone back to wherever celestial spirits lived.

"Do you know where Wendy is?" Lyla asked. Laura only shook her head.

"Like I said, we went different ways. Erza probably ran to Nirvana."

"Oh yeah! They needed Jellal to activate Nirvana!" Natsu exclaimed. Both Lyla and Laura scowled at the thought of Brain, but they didn't give anyone time to notice this. This pain was theirs to deal with. Laura didn't trust these wizards to help them.

Laura whipped around at the sound of rustling leaves. They were close, but their footsteps were at a walking pace. The rest of the group could hear the person approaching. First, their silhouette emerged, then the color pink. It was the Lamia Scale wizard; Sherry.

"Sherry!" Lucy exclaimed with relief, "I'm glad you're alright, but did you have to scare me?"

"Weren't you on Big Tuna island? Whatever happened to that dog and the dude with the eyebrows?" Natsu questioned. Lyla would have charged at him if Laura didn't grab her. She sighed, desperately wanting to get a punch in herself. This idiot right here…

"It's all your fault," Sherry mumbled. Laura's body tensed. Something had changed. More than the sky or Nirvana. She could hear it.

Crackling came from behind Sherry. Wooden hands reached out at the Fairies. This was Sherry's magic. She could manipulate inanimate objects.

Before Laura could do anything, Gray's ice magic created spikes that impaled the wood.

"I've had enough of you!" He yelled and put Sherry in a chokehold and threw her to the ground.

"Is she okay?" Lucy asked.

"I think she might be possessed."

"Get off of me! You'll pay for what you did to my love!"

"She still calls Lyon 'love'?" Lyla asked.

"She sounds like Juvia," Laura said.

"You know her?"

"I talk to people."

"But you don't, though."

Laura couldn't fight this. Yes, Lyla was right, but that didn't mean Laura had to admit it.

"She's been acting strange since that light showed up. Have you seen anything weird?" Gray said while trying to keep Sherry pinned to the ground.

"Yeah and I owe you a kick in the teeth for that little trick you pulled," Natsu replied.

Lyla turned to Laura for context. Laura shrugged. She wasn't around when this happened.

"Gemini dressed up as Gray and attacked us," Lucy explained.

"You won't escape me! I swear on my life I'll avenge him!" Sherry fought Gray's grip to no avail.

Laura could hear something different about her magic. It seemed like Nirvana, but she couldn't tell if the pillar's magic was strong enough to carry over to where they were.

"Avenge me for what exactly?"

Lyon's question brought Laura out of her thoughts. He explained himself. He had joined Gray in on fighting Racer back when Fairy Tail just found Oracion Seis' cave. Racer had a bomb strapped to his chest and Lyon threw himself over the cliff with the enemy so the bomb wouldn't hurt anyone. He lived through this explosion, but Sherry and Gray assumed he had died when they couldn't find his body. It sounded like an emotional battle.

Sherry cried, but she smiled. She rested on the ground and black smoke rose from her body. Laura didn't know how to take it.

"I told you guys she seemed like she was possessed," Gray commented.

"Nirvana. It can bring people to their opposite sides." Laura explained, but everyone gave her dumbfounded stares.

Lucy cleared things up, "I think she means that Nirvana can turn a good person bad and a bad person good if they doubt themselves. Hibiki questioned his actions… He was beginning to think he wasn't good enough and Nirvana almost changed him."

Laura gave a simple shrug. She had overheard Hibiki explain this to Lucy when she ran to save Lyla from Brain. Laura was more concerned about saving her friend, so it seems she didn't get every detail in the conversation.

She walked over and sat against a tree. Laura needed time to rest and think.

Lyla approached from behind and sat against the other side of the tree. It felt nice for it to be only the two of them again. Back when they didn't know anyone else.

"I… don't know," Laura mumbled.

Lyla took a few seconds to respond, "Know what? That nostalgia had a nice pair of blades?"

She shook her head. "Nirvana can make bad people good and good people bad."

"Right… And?"

"How does Nirvana know 'good' and 'bad'?"

This got Lyla to think. "Nirvana didn't make itself. Human beings had to build it. So Nirvana only knows what those humans programmed it to know."

"What says they say what good and bad is?" Laura hissed, "There is no black or white. You can think someone is a villain when all they do is try to help. And someone who is bad can think they're the hero. It's all an opinion."

Lyla talked slow, "There are some basic rules each side goes by.

Laura snorted, "If I complete a job to save a village from a monster, does it make me good or bad?"

"Good."

"But what if I only did it to get the reward?"

"Bad?"

"But I need money to continue living. How am I supposed to survive if I don't get paid?"

"You steal."

"So if I accepted the job out of the kindness of my heart without payment, I would starve and end up stealing from others."

Seconds past with nothing from either side. Laura huffed and briskly stood up, her eyebrows furrowed.

The ground and a painful buzz came from Nirvana. The pillar multiplied in size and filled the sky with white light. Laura had trouble staying on two feet. She feared Nirvana would ruin her ears again.

"This doesn't look too good!" Lyla's voice wavered.

"And once again, Erza is right in the middle of it."

Laura expected something to happen, but she didn't expect the light to dim and everything to fall silent. Had Erza stopped it?

Everyone shrieked when the ground rumbled again and six tube-shaped legs lifted from the ground. They ripped the forest from its roots and kicked chunks of rock and dirt miles across the ground. The group happened to be standing above one of the legs and took them to the sky.

Laura kept her hands on her ears, praying her eardrums wouldn't explode.

The leg turned vertically and left no ground to stand on. Laura had to grab onto the moss that grew on it. She saw Lyla higher up, falling down. She was able to grab Lyla's wrist. Had she fallen unconscious?

Lyla opened her eyes and took in the scene, she reached out to grab onto moss and rock. That left Laura to worry about keeping herself from falling.

Looking around, there were six legs in total that carried an ancient city in the center.

"I would say it looks nice if a loose grip didn't determine our lives," Laura commented casually. A calm head made things easier.

"Sure," Lyla said. Laura could only hear her voice. She clutched her eye. Laura remembered when they were at the cave. There was too much magical energy around them. She hoped Lyla would last.

"Where's Lyon and Sherry?" She asked.

Laura couldn't hear their magic. "I don't know. Nirvana is too strong." What she could hear was Natsu's shouted growing louder. She saw him run past her with a large cloud of dust trailing behind. Gray and Lucy were running not far behind.

"How are they doing that?" Laura asked.

"Easy. Stand up and run."

Laura gave Lyla and unimpressed look.

"It might take a side of fighting spirit and a main course of crazy."

Laura rolled her eyes but followed the snarky instructions. She placed her feet and the ground and worked on gaining momentum. She got enough to be able to run ahead without falling hundreds of feet to death. It surprised her when the leg began moving, but she noticed the other five were moving as well. The thing was walking. This was Nirvana walking towards a destination, and Laura would sprint into the city and help stop it.

**A/N: **haha, so, sorry. I know it's almost two days late, but here we go. Part of it though is because today was my birthday. Sorry I took so long though. I hope you enjoyed. If you did please leave a review? All right, bye.


	16. The Sixteenth

"Just think of it like a giant octopus! Being on the back of an animal doesn't bother you, does it?"

"And an octopus in the woods is all kinds of wrong!"

Fairy Tail was supposed to have some of the strongest wizards in the guilds. There are even two dragon slayers! So how on Earthland is one of them being beaten by motion sickness?!

Laura stood up, careful with her balance. Lyla was further behind them but they didn't have time to help. Laura trusted her skills. Gray and Lucy were still on their stomachs trying to convince Natsu he wasn't on a vehicle so he didn't vomit instead of fight. Laura had lost her patience and would make her way to the city on Nirvana by herself.

A leg moved forward and planted itself into the ground, shaking the whole machine. Laura fell back to the floor to catch herself. Natsu began to slide off. He stopped, but another leg moved and he further down the tube. No one could catch him as he fell off and gravity pulled him into the forest below.

"He's dead." Laura murmured. She had forgotten about Happy the annoying cat, who swooped in with his white feathered wings and grabbed Natsu. "Damn it."

Nirvana took another step, shaking the three wizards still on the leg. Once the shaking stopped, Laura jumped up and sprinted for the ancient city. She reached the end of the leg.

"Sound Burst!" She shouted. She gathered and enhanced the sound of her footsteps and used that to propel her above the towering stone wall. She landed on the silent road. Around her were degrading stone buildings. Their former shape could no longer be recognized and they would only continue to crumble. Laura couldn't understand how they were still standing.

In the distance, she could hear Natsu's yelling. She turned her head in his direction at the top of the tallest tower in the city. She could hear Brain and Natsu's magic along with someone else's. She encountered it before earlier in the day. Cobra? Their magic was faint, but not too far to be unheard.

Laura ran to the tower. The sooner she could beat the Brain the sooner everyone could go back to Magnolia. Lyla's stronger but, with Nirvana's power, she wouldn't last long.

Using Sound Burst again, she enhanced the power of the air hitting her as she ran to push her along and increase her speed. If she limited how powerful she made the noise, it wouldn't be able to hurt her ears.

Light in the sky took Laura's attention away from the tower. It was Natsu's fire magic. He fought Cobra, who stood on his… flying snake? Since when do snakes fly? Laura ignored the weird details and rushed to the fight. She couldn't fly, but she could hit Cobra with a spell if Natsu kept him distracted a while longer. She leaped onto one of the roofs and prepared herself to go half deaf again as she cast a spell.

Just before she could collect enough magical energy, Cobra's magic changed. Instead of sound magic, Laura could hear more poisonous magic. Cobra slashed at Natsu with his hands with black and red streams of magic flowing everywhere. Natsu had been hit, but he could still fight. He dived at Cobra with his hand covered in flames. Cobra's spell ran into his and they created a mighty explosion of magic and light.

Laura used Sound Burst again to dash to where Salamander landed after being blown out of the sky. She reached him before Happy. He landed on the roof of a building with rubble and stone all over.

"Laura! Since when did you get here?" Happy asked.

"Not long after you." She replied, then looked at Natsu. He had already gotten motion sick and had bruises. "Let me take over." She told Happy.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I'm a sound wizard too. Salamander got hit with his attack, didn't he? Poison?"

"Like I'll let you steal my fight!" Natsu yelled, "Hap-" Then he covered his mouth to keep from vomiting. Laura looked to the cat, who she had convinced. He grabbed the back of her cloak and flew her up to Cobra. He stood on the back of the flying serpent.

"Another sound wizard? Is that fire-breathing idiot already too weak from my poison?" Cobra asked with a cocky grin.

_You can hear my thoughts, you can hear my memories, but I can also hear you…_

"I'll admit I'm surprised your ears are good, but you can't do as much as me. I'm a poison dragon slayer and you are just some unskilled orphan."

"Orphan?" Happy murmured.

"Fly," Laura ordered, and Happy charged straight at the enemy.

"You already lost!" Cobra shouted as he dodged Laura's kick, "You went through every spell you can do! It's hilarious how weak you actually are."

"There's this thing called 'improvising.'"

Laura solidified the wind around her fist to create crystal-like armor around it and landed a hit across his jaw, magnifying the sound from the swing of her arm to attack with more force. She flew past him and could hear the snake's tail moving to hit her and dodged.

"Poison Dragon Scales!" Cobra cast, black and red scale-shaped magic shooting out from his magic circle. Laura could hear them coming and leaned to steer Happy away from the attack. One scale managed to scrape her arm.

She charged at him, a whip of crystallized pink magic formed in her hand and whistled through the air at him from one side while her armored fist came at him from the other side. He had no way to dodge. Her fist collided with his upper arm and shoved him off of the flying snake. She felt something wet trickle down her ear.

"You're not much of a dragon, more like a worthless wyrm." Laura didn't remember the difference, but Lyla had once talked about dragons and wyrms being related, but the dragons didn't like to acknowledge that.

"Cubellios!" Her opponent yelled. The flying reptile dove down to rescue him immediately.

"Oh no, you don't!" Laura yelled and flicked the whip at the serpent's wings. She missed and Cubellios caught Cobra. "Rahhhhh!" she screamed in rage and tried to wrap the whip around the snake's wings again. It missed again. "Happy, dive at them!"

"Hah!" The man laughed. "You can't even use that right! Why on Earthland would you waste magic power with that? You can't even protect your friend." He smirked knowingly. He cast another spell, launching poisoned scales at her again.

"Happy!" She shrieked. The cat dropped like a stone to avoid them but another one scratched her other arm. Laura had already begun to feel the effects of the first cut.

The flying cat groaned, "You're heavy…" He sounded sick.

The only good thing about this whole thing was her opponent wasn't using the arm she hit. That meant she had done some damage. Though he had done plenty to her.

Cobra laughed again. "Looks like your time is almost up." His laughter kept echoing in her ears. Her rage grew with each echo. Her teeth clenched and her fists tightened. The crystal whip and armor had faded away. Something pulled her magic all into a place inside of her. Her head pounded louder and louder with Cobra's echoes until she could make out a whisper.

_It's almost done, Cubellios. You're doing a great job._

Her fists loosen and her teeth unclenched and formed a look of shock, confusion, and realization. This whisper hadn't sounded like her. A man spoke in her head. She could hear the words so clearly. She could picture so many images- _Memories _that weren't hers. They belonged to Cobra…

The Tower of Heaven. The R-System. What Lyla had told her about before. Where Jellal had come from. Cobra was only a child, like Erza. The same time at the same tall and twisted tower of magic and suffering.

The memories left her and Laura noticed the buildings were growing taller. No, they were sinking. Happy had grown weak from the poison when he and Natsu were fighting.

_The poison will take care of them. _She heard Cobra's thoughts. Or should she still call him "Cobra"? After all, she could hear his real name.

"I'm sorry," the blue cat apologized. "I can't hold on much longer."

This power suddenly hit her. Laura's lips peeled back to show teeth. Lyla's maniacal side had infected her.

"Stay awake a little longer," She said through a crazed smile, "We're on even ground now…"

Happy did as told and used what energy he had left to keep Laura above ground.

"You think you'll last against my poison?" The dragon slayer derided. Laura knew Happy wouldn't last, but she could stay conscious long enough to beat him. Both her arms were half numb and the poison spread through the rest of her body, but whatever her sound magic gave her also offered a chance.

"Of course!" Laura claimed confidently. She held her hand out and cast Solid Weapon: Whip. The sound from her words compressed into a long strand starting from her palm and solidified into a whip. She stole the idea from Lucy, but it proved itself useful for this fight.

Laura cracked her whip through the air, Cobra dodging with ease. He wore a smug expression. She didn't need his thoughts to know he saw her as some stupid child.

The whip finally hit him and he fell forward with a yell. Cubellios caught him before he reached the ground.

"I like this... improvisation." A new word she heard. Whispers in her head grew louder into Cobra's voice. _How did I not hear her attack?_

"You're nowhere near beating me. The poison is already taking care of you. Although I _am_ sad." He seemed genuinely unhappy.

She coughed a little, it was harder to move. "Why?"

"You know sound magic. I could teach you so much. We could be friends."

A strange offer… Laura didn't trust it.

"I'm sorry too, Erik." Her voice grew weak. The poison must have been really strong. "I understand what your life was like."

Their backstories weren't too different from one another. They lived in two different settings, but both had relied on one person to grow up with. Only one person in their lives. No one else mattered. Laura understood that and knew Cobra didn't mean "friends" like She and Lyla; Cobra and Cubellios.

"Happy,"

"Hm?"

Laura stared directly into Cobra's eyes. He could hear her, of course, but her ability to hear him had started to fade. Whatever actions she took to cause it in the first place were unknown to her.

"Land. See if Salamander's hungry."

He nodded and fly off, quickly catching on. Cobra read Laura's thoughts. She focused on an image. Only one. She forgot about her plan long enough for the image to _burn _into her and make her face go pale. Shallow breathing, watery vision. Her ears grew deaf to everything but her rapid heartbeat.

It stopped. Silence. Her brain stopped processing. Nothing came or went. ..._Silence…_

..._Silence…_

..._Silence…_

…_.._

…_.._

…

"SOUND BURST!"

"Cubellios!"

Laura propelled herself into the air. "SOLID WEAPON: GREATSWORD!"

"Poison Dragon Spiral Jaw!"

Cobra leaped from the serpent's back and spun around with streams of poison magic flooding from his feet. He sent a powerful kick. At the same time, Laura swung her sword downward and used the sound of the air to lift her above Cobra's attack range.

The poison hit the ground with enough power to crack the stone ground down the road and into a tall tower with a ball of ember at the top. The target: it had flames lapping at the chill air of the night. It crashed and set the area into a crumbling pit of fire.

Gravity decided to take its turn in this sky battle and drag Laura back to the city of Nirvana. The flames. The sun reminded her of them. Even sitting in front of a campfire risked her mental and emotional health.

"Crystal Armour!" She tried not to yell, but fear took control. The sound of the crackling fire and Natsu eating it solidified around her. This one useful spell that kept her safe during years apart from Lyla continued to do its job. It was nothing like Erza's Requip, but it gave an opaque set of armor that formed around her. Laura saw her mother use it once, but it didn't help the women the last time she saw flames spread this far.

She crashed into the roof of a decaying building, rock and stone falling on top of her. The armor protected her, but the poison drained her energy quicker and it began to crack. Laura waited for the crackling to stop and the Dragon Slayer spells to be cast before crawling out of what once stood a building.

Natsu had devoured all of the oranges and reds, now using them in his fight. Laura's armor cracked several times more before blowing away in shards. She laid there with heavy breaths and more blood dripping from her ear. Only one, so she wouldn't have to ask for Wendy's help. At least until Brain was dead. The realization that she would have to use more spells like this hit her before exhaustion pulled her to unconsciousness.

**A/N:** Hey! Sorry, it's a little late, but I didn't forget. I... just was busy. My pet bird escaped and I'm trying to find him. I hope you enjoyed.


	17. Chapter 17

Fire. More fire. The crackling of the sun cast on Earthland. The screams. They echoed; They possessed the trees. Blood seeped into the earth. And the tears of a single child couldn't cleanse any of it.

"Maaaaaa!" The girl shouted joyously. She came running down the cobblestone road with adults having to move out of her way. She bumped into one. It was the friendly baker who always gave her treats when her parents weren't looking.

"Sorry, Mr. Tanchen!" The girl jumped up and continued running. The baker gave a hearty chuckle and waved goodbye.

"Ma! Maaaa! Mama guess what!"

A right turn after the end of the road stood the best Mom there was. The girl loved braiding her long hair and adding all sorts of colorful ribbons and hair clips.

Mama turned around with a basket of toys in hand. Her brown eyes filled with love at the sight of her daughter.

"What is it, Looloo? I thought you were playing with Kally."

She caught up with Mama and tried matching her pacing while talking, "She got hungry, but Aunt Genie was cooking tuna with mac and cheese. I don't like tuna!"

Mama rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Your grandmother cooked that for us all the time as kids. It's really good. My sister is just a bad cook. I can make some much bet-"

"Where are you taking all of Iyen's toys?" Looloo interrupted.

"He grew out of them. They've been in the attic for years now. I thought I'd give them to one of my grown-up friends since she has a little boy who would love these."

"But what about me? I want to play!" Looloo kept hopping around her mother, trying to take the ball peeking out from the edge of the basket. Mama simply lifted the basket higher.

"How about you run back home? Pa should be making lunch. I think the food should be done by now, now that I think about it…"

She wanted the toys, but getting food sounded good. Maybe Iyen could let her play after eating. So Looloo did as told and hurried back home. She liked her house because it's where her family would always be. It was also close to the market so there were always people she could talk to, and the hair salon was a few minutes away. That meant Iyen, Pa, or Ma could take her to buy a new hairbrush or hair clips or ribbons or even a new haircut whenever she wanted!

"Paaaaa! I'm hungry!"

"Alright, Little-Loo. It's almost done." Pa said from the kitchen, "Iyen, help set up the table."

"But I was going to go out and hang with friends." The boy came from the living room, which was close enough to talk normally from any room except upstairs. He would complain about how small the house was to their parents, but Looloo thought it was the right size.

"You can after lunch."

"But we were going to _get _lunch!"

Pa turned away from the stove to speak to Iyen directly, "We bought just enough for all four of us. Mama doesn't want any leftovers with all the cake and party food we'll be stuffing in the fridge."

"That's in a few days. I can eat one meal before then!"

"Iyen…"

One stern look from Pa could get either child to listen no matter what. Iyen had trouble listening sometimes though. Looloo asked about it to both Mama and Pa, but they said: "It's just what happens when kids get older". Looloo didn't want to grow up if it meant causing arguments like what Iyen did.

When he searched the cabinets for plates and utensils, Looloo ran up to Pa and hugged him, though she was only tall enough to hug his legs.

"Careful, I don't want anything to burn you." His soothing voice warned. His bright green eyes were concentrated on the pot as he stirred. His face had beads of sweat that dripped down his face and caught in his dirty blond and a scruffy beard. Looloo didn't like being in the kitchen too long while someone cooked since it made the room too hot.

She let go of her hug and walked over to climb on a chair and watch Iyen set the table.

"Lucky you. Thanks to your party I'm stuck here." He told her with no anger or frustration. He sounded more annoyed, but only about the situation.

"We can make it later. I'm not turning six until…" She started counting on her fingers. Iyen interrupted her before she could finish the math.

"It's okay. Pa would have stopped me to play with you if there was no party."

"Oh, can we! I want to try a new spell I saw Mama do once!"

Iyen's brown eyes looked back to Pa for some assistance.

"You brought it up!" The man called from the kitchen.

He lowered his head with a sigh of defeat. He had to fix his long dark hair to be out of his face before finishing up at the table. "Tomorrow. Alright?"

Someone knocked on the front door while Looloo whined, "But that will take forever!"

Pa wiped his face with a towel while coming over to answer the door. Both siblings stared at the tall man at the door. He had long white hair, so he must be old, but he also had a muscular figure. She had never seen an old man so strong. All of the elderly in her town had wrinkles and white hair. Some needed walking canes or always asked younger people for help.

"How can I help you, sir?" Pa asked, tossing the towel over his shoulder.

"I'm looking for the Ragstone family. I hope I didn't get the wrong address." The stranger said. Even with his smile, he still had an intimidating semblance.

"That's us. Are you looking for my blacksmithing services? I'm on lunch break but I don't mind taking an order to work on later."

"As much as I appreciate the gesture, I simply wanted to talk to you and your wife about sound magic. I'm from the Bureau of Magical Development. We study all types of magic and special abilities that help us learn more about wizards and their magical qualities."

He glanced at Looloo. She could only stand there with wide eyes. The stranger froze Iyen too.

Pa rubbed the back of his head, his eyes were deep in thought. He looked at the children, then back to the stranger. He shrugged and opened the door wider, stepping out of the way, "You're welcome in. You'll have to wait for my wife to get back from an errand. Have a seat in the living room."

The stranger thanked Pa and walked straight ahead into the small living room. He took a spot on the couch.

"But that's where Iyen sits…"

Pa placed his hand on her shoulder and bent down to whisper, "It's okay. You two get a plate and eat upstairs."

Looloo nodded and slid off of the chair, heading into the kitchen where Iyen already had a plate made. He made a second one for her and carried them past the living room and upstairs. She tugged on the end of his shirt, hiding behind him. For some reason, the stranger not looking at them made her heart race. She couldn't tell what he wanted. He didn't move and react to anything.

They made it up the stairs before she realized how much her hands shook. Iyen sat against the wall in the dark hallway, his hair in his face as he ate. Looloo's plate sat next to him.

An idea popped into her head. She jogged past Iyen and into the bathroom. She turned the light on and opened a drawer full of colorful ponytail holders and other hair decorations. She took a bright green one with a plastic yellow flower. She came back out and held it up to show her brother.

"You'll get hair on your food. I want to braid it!"

Iyen looked up at her with a mouthful of food. He shrugged and waved his hand to say "Whatever."

With a bright smile, she turned back to get his brush then sat behind him. He turned around so his side faced the wall and she could easily brush out his hair. The warm light from the bathroom helped her see. It would be enough. She didn't want to turn on the hallway lights with the strange man downstairs. He would know where they were…

When Iyen's hair had been brushed smooth and Looloo began braiding, she heard the door creak open and Mama's shoes clicking on the wood floor. The murmuring from Pa and the man had stopped and the man greeted Mama.

"What are they saying?" Iyen asked her.

She stopped braiding and crawled to the top of the stairwell. It didn't take much to overhear, but Looloo would be able to make out the words better.

"It's nice to meet you. Though how did you hear about us?" Mama asked.

"The Bureau has access to many resources. We're constantly on the lookout for anything new. I can assure you, though, everything stays within the legal limitations." The stranger explained with a calm and deep voice. She shivered.

"What exactly do you want to talk about? I can tell you a lot about my family's history with sound magic. I can't give anything too scientific."

"We'll appreciate that information, but I came to meet your youngest. I'll be stopping by another house in town for the same reason."

Silence followed. Pa's soft footsteps creaked into the wood as he paced around. He couldn't be scared. Pa was always smiling and brave. He only got scared if LooLoo or Iyen did something dangerous.

"What about our daughter?" Mama asked defensively.

"It's only an offer. We want to take her to the Bureau and learn more about her abilities. It will be for the Summer. We provide comfortable living conditions and will even teach her basic classes."

"Wait, wait, Sir. This is the first we're hearing about any bureau and suddenly you want our daughter to go there for a whole summer? She's five." Pa said.

"I completely understand. The Bureau of Magical Development is too far away to give you a sort of tour, so I can only assure you we do this for both you and our best interests. This will help you understand the 'science' behind your family's magic, Mrs. Ragstone while helping us discover more and be able to share our knowledge."

Looloo shrank into the corner. She's never been beyond the treeline surrounding the town. Leaving Iyen, Ma, Pa… Tears gathered in her eyes. Her nose started to run. Iyen scooted to her side to calm her.

"I don't want to leave you guys. I don't want to leave Kally or Aunt Genie or Uncle Toda or my toys or my house or…" She cried and sniffed and gasped between tears. Footsteps came rushing upstairs and Pa scooped her up and took her to her room.

"Our final answer is 'no'." She heard Mama say before the bedroom door closed. Pa placed her on her single bed and searched for the closest plushie to comfort her.

"Now, What did Mama and I say about listening in on conversations?"

"Bu-but Iyen wanted to know what you were talking about!" Snot covered the lower half of her face, tears streaming down her red cheeks.

"I'll get to him later. _You _need to learn when and when not to do things. I know you love helping but sometimes people want help for things that aren't good."

She couldn't understand… Good people always asked for help. It was the bad guys that tricked and lied to get what they want. She went to a friend's house and they watched a show that taught her that. Seeing a TV in person had amazed her and she wanted to keep watching over and over again.

Pa wiped her face with his apron before standing up and leaving the room. He left a sliver of light in the door.

She hugged her plushie and looked around the room. Mama had cleaned it. Some toys were missing. The baby toys that she hadn't played with for a long time. They must have been in that basket with Iyen's kid toys.

Sliding off of the side of the bed, she walked to her toy chest and pulled out a bunch of dolls with braided hair and hair clips. She took out an old hairbrush and unbraided them rebraided each doll's head. She still felt sad, but Mama and Pa had said doing something you like to do can help cheer you up, so that's what she did. All into the night she braided and decorated her dolls' hair. She lost track of time until Mama knocked lightly on the door and came in.

"It's late, Little-Loo. You should get some sleep."

It took her a moment to speak, "But I want to play…"

"You can tomorrow, but you need energy for that. And you only get energy from sleeping and eating full meals."

"So I'll just have a reeaalllly big breakfast."

Mama smiled, her eyebrows creased, however. She walked over and sat down beside her daughter. "Well… We're saving up for a reeaalllly big cake! And decorations. And it will be unfair if you get a big breakfast but Iyen doesn't.

Mama had a point…

She kissed Looloo goodnight and made her way out of the bedroom and turned off the lights, going to her drawers to turn on the lamp first. The room filled with warm yellows. Almost like a fire dancing inside. The child placed her doll down and climbed into her bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

The morning came and soon enough, the house filled with the smell of eggs and waffles and with the sounds of the sizzling from the pan as it cooked. Mama and Pa were talking to each other in the kitchen while Iyen was leaning out of the window in the living room. He had a slingshot with a pile of small stones gathered against the outside wall. Looloo rushed downstairs and kneeled next to him to watch.

"You're not shooting animals, right?"

"Uhh…" He had the string pulled back. Stones surrounded the bottom of a nearby tree with a bird resting on the branch. He shifted his aim to a berry bush. "Nope!" Then fire the stone and overshot.

"What if we picked those berries?" She asked, "We can add them on our waffles!"

"Nope! No berries on my waffles!" Pa chimed in. He walked past the doorway of the living room and rested his plate on the dining table, then came back around, "Only weirdos put fruit on their waffles."

Mama walked by and slapped the back of his head. He chuckled as he waved his hand for her to leave.

"Food's ready!" Mama told the kids. Looloo jumped up and ran over while Iyen closed the window. She climbed onto her seat that had orange juice instead of milk like the rest. Iyen caught up and took the fourth chair.

They ate together and talked together. The same routine. Pa would complain about all the work he had to do, then Mama would remind him, "That's the point of a job, honey."

Iyen would swallow his plate whole then run off to his friends before their parents could make him clean up. Looloo would be talking about everything she would want to do for the day. Braid hair, play with her cousin, visit the baker, buy more toys.

"Oh! Oh! Can you show me some more spells? Mama."

"Hm? Well...I don't have much planned for today."

"Iyen said he would play with me today, but he's already gone."

"Let me get dressed. You do too. You didn't change into any night clothes last night."

"Alright!" She chugged the rest of her orange juice then ran upstairs and changed into a fresh set of day clothes. She wore her favorite skirt and what she thought were the cutest shoes. She brushed her hair then made a simple braid. She could have made a more intricate one with how long it took Mama to get ready. Pa had already finished the dishes.

More waiting… First on the couch then outside the front door. She pulled at the blades of grass and drew lines in the dirt with her shoes. The streets were busy with noise. Footsteps, talking, laughing from other kids. Remembering what Pa told her last night, she didn't focus on anyone's conversations. They were all from adults anyways. They didn't have too much interesting stuff to say.

After what could have been an eternity, Mama came out and closed the door behind her. She held out her hand and Looloo took it. They walked to a clearing just outside of the village. It was all grass for miles with the edge of a thick forest to the side. A river slithered out from the forest and into the village.

"What would you like me to show you?" Mama asked. The girl turned from admiring the view and instantly jumped with excitement.

"Can you show me the sparkly armor?"

With a smile, Mama held out her hand. Looloo remembered some of how she created the armor. She took a sound like Looloo's shoes jumping on the grass and called it to her arm. She stopped the sound around her arm and it solidified into a pink crystal. It sparkled under the bright sun.

"Hmm...Why is it armor if it isn't like the metal Pa uses? I can see your arm."

"The power of sound can be really strong. My armor is better than anything Pa could make. And he knows it."

Looloo heard her mumbled the last part. She then got a sudden urge to try making her armor. She kept stomping on the ground and tried bringing that sound to her forearm. It didn't work for even a second.

"Oh, let's try music then," Mama suggested when she saw Looloo getting frustrated. "You're good at that."

The girl nodded her head and instinctively cupped her hands together. Mama did the same. She hummed a beautiful note into her hands. They started to glow with a soft pink. She caught the hum. Then the light stretched and squeezed, grew and shrank, creating different pitches and volume. Looloo hummed and caught her note in her hands. She couldn't change it like Mama, but she could hold it and sort of make it louder and softer.

"Keep practicing and you can make my song too!" Mama encouraged. It was Looloo's favorite song because Mama made it while she was still in her belly.

Looloo sat down on her legs and hummed again, trying to make the note louder. Next, she would try making it higher pitched. While practicing, she noticed something caught Mom's attention. It must be some sort of noise since Looloo didn't see anything that could be interesting.

"Looloo, go find your brother. He's probably at the sweet shop with his friends."

"I can listen to him!"

"Good." Then she patted her daughter's head and walked off. Her footsteps were faster. She must be in a hurry. Grown-ups could take forever to do something, but also act like there's no more time to be given to them.

Looloo sprinted into the village in the direction of the sweet shop. The roads were still full of noise. Maybe she could make a song out of all of their voices.

She turned the corner and saw the sign above the door. She entered and the jingle of a bell echoed throughout the room. The store clerk greeted her and she responded with a smile. Then she scanned the area. Sitting at a bar to the side was Iyen and one of his friends. They were eating ice cream.

She approached them, her neck hurting having to look so high up. "Did you take any of Pa's money?" She asked. He jumped and almost knocked his ice cream off of the table.

"N-no. I took Ma's…"

"Imma tell Mama!" She heard him mumble.

"Damn it." He hissed.

"Imma tell her you said a bad word too!"

"No no no no! Just-! I-I'll get you some ice cream. Anything you want if you don't want that!"

His friend couldn't stop laughing. He had to hold onto the table so he wouldn't fall over.

"Hell! She's got you around her finger now!" He gasped for breath between words.

"Shut it!"

Looloo greeted Iyen's friend. He did the same to her. She wasn't exactly friends with any of Iyen's but she knew them well enough. Pa would always say it's important to know the friends of people you know.

"Iyen, you said you'd play with me today." She reminded him.

"Yeah… I did…"

His friend spoke up, "I'm fine. I'm not playing with dolls or dressing up though."

"Yay! Looloo had already bolted out of the shop. Iyen and his friend followed shortly behind. They started by only walking around, trying to think of where to play.

"Doesn't your mom do magic? Can't you do any of that?"

"No. It's weird. _She_ can do it, but I'd have to learn like anyone else." Iyen referred to his sister, "So no, we can't blow anything up."

"I think someone else did," Looloo said. A burnt smell filled her nose. Someone probably ruined lunch, though it was still a little soon to be eating. She turned around at the sound of people's gasps, which turned into yelling, which turned into screams. Iyen and his friend did the same. Near the edge of the town grew a giant cloud of black smoke. People around them noticed it and they all knew it could quickly spread. Iyen lifted Looloo from the ground and ran to the clearing. His friend ran the other way to find his family.

Iyen carried her far out into the plain of grass. The yellows and oranges crackled in her ears. He stopped running but didn't put her down.

"What about Mama and Pa?" She asked him.

He didn't respond. She tried turning and saw tears in his widened eyes. She faced away from it and couldn't see everything, but more black smoke crept across to the other side of the village. She could smell it from where they stood.

"Iyen!" She whined, "Put me down!"

He only hugged her tighter.

"Iyen!" She squirmed enough to where he had to put her down. She turned around and could see several buildings on fire. The whole end of their village was burning. Flames danced on the roof, the screaming and wailing of everyone she knew echoed in her ears. But… their house was somewhere in the flames…

"Wait! Mama and Pa-!"

Iyen bolted straight into the flames. She screamed and ran after him. The fire burned too many things. She had trouble hearing him. Dark smoke filled her lungs and gave her a horrible coughing fit. Her eyes stung and she couldn't breathe, she couldn't scream for help no matter how much she wanted to.

Something scooped her up and ran with her in their arms. Through watery eyes, she could tell by the long brown hair it was Iyen.

"You should've stayed away!" Then he burst into painful coughs.

"But Ma-" She did the same.

Iyen pulled the collar of his shirt over his nose and mouth. She did the same. It barely helped with how much the fire had grown and spread. Iyen called for their parents. Both hoped even a stranger would respond to prove someone could make it out alive, but still no luck.

A fire danced around them, the smoke trapping them inside. She couldn't recognize the roads or the buildings. The wood became black and charred and what hadn't been completely burned still held flames. She just wanted to go back to this morning…

"Pa! Ma!" Iyen yelled, coughed, then yelled again. He stopped walking, slowly bent down, and set her on the stone floor; The only thing not a pile of ash.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry…" He whispered tears into her shoulder, hugging her tightly. She turned around and wiped tears from her eyes. First, only the smoke caused her eyes to water, but the new sight gave her a worse reason.

The building had turned to melted black on the ground. She recognized the layout. The pile of small stones were still there, just hidden under ashes. The fridge still stood. Barely… Her leftover waffles had been burnt just the same. The dolls were gone, the couch was gone, the table was gone. All of it. Within the pile of black, vague shapes of skeletons could be seen. They were adult-sized.

She turned back into Iyen's shirt and cried and coughed and cried and sniffed. She couldn't hear someone's big footsteps approach them under all of the horrible noises.

A shadow loomed over them. Iyen pulled her closer to him. She looked up to see the man from yesterday. His white hair still perfectly slicked back and his clothes still clean. He had just walked into the oranges. He wanted to take her.

"You…" Iyen's voice panicked, "You… You, you, you, you, y- YOU DID THIS!" He stood up and stomped up to the man, glaring at him, "YOU BURNED OUR HOUSE BECAUSE MAMA AND PA LOVED US! YOU SHOULD BUR-"

The man's arm was only a flash toward his collar, lifting him from the ground. The other arm reached out and wrapped his fingers around his throat.

"I don't need you." He tightened his grip, then stared right into her eyes, "I need _you." _

She stared at Iyen with horrid eyes. He struggled to pry the man's hand open. The smoke made things worse. She couldn't do anything. She was only a child! She wasn't a grown-up with Pa's strength or Mama's spells or Iyen's smart mouth. She only watched. She watched Iyen with the hope he could break free. Then he watched as the man moved his muscular arm and threw Iyen into a burning building.

She screamed, her throat scratchy and burning and full of more coughing. The brittle flaming collapsed on impact and fell on top of him, ashes flying around like pappuses on a dandelion. Her tears became rivers and her wails grew louder than the village's suffering.

Two masked men wearing strange clothes briskly walked past the man from behind and took each of her arms, lifting her and carrying her away from her home. She yelled and wriggled and used all of her strength to escape.

They worked for him. They worked for the man and he wanted her, so they took her. He wanted the house burned so they burned it. He wanted Mama and Pa went so they burned them too, and anyone else who could be a witness, which so happened to be all of the village.

The small cluster of buildings became nothing but black. Everything gone. Everything gone. Everything gone. Everything gone...

Yelling. Lots of yelling. So many spells and so much magic being used. Lyla screamed with the voice of a demon. Then more magic, Jura's. She heard Lyla collapse and skid across the ground.

She could see now, although her eyes refused to focus. She reached out to touch Lyla's shoulder. To calm her, to assure the girl her friends were still alive.

Around them were allies. Some like Natsu and Happy laid on the floor and unconscious. Jura, Lucy, and Gray were standing against a beaten Brain, but the man kept fighting. He would keep fighting until death.

"Can you sit up?" She asked Lyla while struggling to do so herself. She could only feel the cold stone road freeze her while the wind bit her skin.

In response, Lyla tried lifting herself but failed. Both were too weak. Then, she noticed black magic glowing from Lyla's hand. She could see the color returning to the girl's face. In barely any time, she had enough strength to stand up. She could hear her friend's magic. It had returned. Not fully, but enough to be given a chance in battle.

Laura looked up at her friend, too exhausted to process what happened. But then her lips pulled back into a subtle smile. It seemed both of them had gained something during this war.

**A/N: **Hey! Sorry. I'm late. Again... This pandemic sucks. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. If you're enjoying this, why don't you check out my other story, the Shadows in my Heart? It's actually a pretty cool story. Thanks for reading!


	18. Eighteenth

"Midnight... it's in your hands now…"

Laura heard the man's words. Jura had beaten Brain in their fight. She saw Lyla for a moment before she teleported. She still lay on the ground, waking up after the fire.

So far she knew that her allies on Nirvana were still alive, all Oracion Seis members were beaten except for Midnight, and both Lyla and Laura discovered something about their magic. Laura had the same ability as Cobra that let her hear someone's thoughts, but she couldn't use it at will. And Lyla would absorb magical power to regain energy. It would have been useful for both of them to have learned this years ago.

Laura heard grumbling and aching. Natsu didn't lie on the ground too far from her. His motion sickness could get annoying real quick…

"Guys, please… stop this thing." He begged while trying not to puke.

"Oh, you poor man. Have you been poisoned?" Wendy asked. Laura found it comical, though she did not laugh as she lifted herself from the ground. Blood beat in the back of her neck as it rushed to her head, which made even the color black hurt her eyes. Side effects to mind reading? How did Cobra deal with this?

"Hey, why didn't this thing stop?" Gray asked. Everyone looked around. They defeated Brain, but Nirvana kept moving. It would have been enjoyable to pummel the old man…

"Do you think there's a control panel at the tower?" Lucy suggested. She, Gray, Jura, Wendy, Carla, and Happy all agreed that might be the case. Laura kept silent and followed them. Happy carried Natsu since he would be out of commission until they could find a way to stop the machine.

The group made their way through the city and to the top of the tallest tower. Some miracle had been performed to keep the fossil standing. Based off of the crumbling pillars and no roof, the thing most likely used to be taller. It might topple over while they stood on it, looking for a way to shut it down.

Still nothing. Only decaying stone. Laura sat down cross-legged and massaged her head. That even put too much pressure, so she stopped and instead tried breathing in the rich forest air.

It helped some, but she would need a cure, or sleep. Both would be nice. Maybe one of Wendy's healing spells would work? The small girl could heal a bad ear, surely she could heal a headache?

"YEAHEAAAAH! I'M BAAAACK!" Natsu's joyful cry made Laura flinch and cover her ears. The headache became so much worse. He bounced and did somersaults all around the group. He ran to Lucy and asked to fight with one of her celestial spirits, which she yelled the reality of their situation to him. Too many sounds, way too loud. Superhuman hearing should have a switch to it.

"Can you shut up?!" Laura yelled, gritting her teeth. Thankfully, everyone did. She took a deep breath at the relief of her head pounding less. She enjoyed this for a few more seconds before Gray spoke, but nothing too unbearable of a volume.

"We gotta figure out how to stop this thing. And there's obviously nothing here that'll help us do that." He said. Others started questioning how they could try stopping it.

Carla had a different idea. "There are no visible controls, the royal throne is empty, and the one presumed to be piloting it has been defeated. So perhaps instead we should ask 'Why is it still functioning the same as it was before?'"

"Do you think he might have put it on autopilot?" Gray asked.

Wendy began crying and shaking. Laura knew that pain. She didn't need to read minds to understand it. "Your home won't be destroyed. You can see your family after we stop Nirvana."

Wendy sniffled and the tears slowed. Reassurance. That would have been useful too.

Laura stood up, she paced around the tower. The large stone platform had pebbles and stones scattered everywhere. Plants had started to grow from the columns. She rubbed the back of her neck gently to help the headache. She kept her eyes looking down on the pathetic city but knew her allies watched curiously.

Wendy didn't pay attention to her. Instead, she came up with her own idea and ran off, Carla worriedly following. She hurried down the steps inside of the hollow column that got them to the tower. Down…

Deep breaths. She cleared her head. She stopped walking and closed her eyes. Silence took over the city. No sound but low rumbling separated between each of Nirvana's steps. Listening, something else could be heard below them.

Laura opened her eyes and turned to the wizards, trying to ignore the eyes that stared at her.

"Did we beat everyone in Oracion Seis?"

"No. We have yet to find Midnight." Jura confirmed.

She thought some more, recalling what Brain said before falling unconscious, "Brain needs Midnight for something. What if he's the reason Nirvana is still running?"

"That would be correct." A disembodied voice echoed in her head. Everyone else heard it too. The voice sounded familiar… Hoteye.

"Did you defeat Midnight, Richard?" Jura asked. Laura had missed something here…

"I tried my best, but it seems that my magic simply wasn't strong enough to trump his." Hoteye, now going by Richard, said, "Do not concern yourself with my rescue. You must work together to bring Midnight down for good."

"You said I was right about something," Laura said.

"Defeating Midnight will render Nirvana's source of magic power dry. He's directly below you. Just outside the royal throne. His power is not one to be underestimated. Please, be cautious, my friends!"

"Same to you, Richard," Jura said before Richard's voice cut out. A strange interaction, but Nirvana can change "bad" to "good" and the other way around. Hoteye must have been between the two sides to be converted to "good".

Wizards ran past her. Natsu took the lead down the stairs and the group followed. They entered the dark tower that stained their noses with the worst smell of stone and paint that's been rotting away for years.

Natsu ran faster as they approached two identical doors with a red and gold frame and angry tribal faces. He jumped up and continuously spun and kicked the door open -Attempted too. Then she took the handles and pulled the doors open with a bright light on the other side.

"Everybody get down!" Jura shouted just before a large explosion sent everyone to the ground. The room became dark and contaminated the air with dirt, but they could still breathe. Doing a headcount, one person was missing. Laura could still hear Jura, but she couldn't find him. The room seemed much smaller and the ceiling smoother and closer to their heads.

Natsu punched his way through the ceiling and popped his head through the hole. Gray, Lucy, and Laura did the same. The room hadn't shrunk. In front of them stood Jura, using his earth magic to create a hard rock dome around them. Laura should have done the same, but it happened too quickly.

Jura's pillars dispersed into dust. The floor had been demolished and a gaping hole showed the city on the other side of the wall.

The man lost his energy. He gave it up for them. He fell to the cracked stone with a thud, the others crying out their own woes for his defeat, but Laura stood there in silence.

They jumped out of the dome and rushed to his side. Laura stayed a statue and listened to their heartbeats skyrocket. She had enough.

"He'll live." She convinced, "He'll get help and he'll be fine."

Lucy looked at her with an angry expression, but a pained voice, "How can you be so sure?"

Convincing and stating are different, but a raspy voice echoed in the dust surrounding them before Laura could say anything.

"Ridiculous." It said, "Brain is such a fool. He used the last of his power to lay his trap, yet only one of you fell in his snare."

Dirt still filled the air. Happy found a figure in it all. His face glowed a pale green that made the group flinch. He revealed himself to be Brain's cane. A self-aware, talking, cane.

It rose above the ground, floating. It laughed maliciously with its skeleton head and the glass sphere in its mouth jittered as the jaw moved up and down. What was the most surprising was Natsu grabbing the stick and whacking it on the ground, complaining about the annoying laughter.

The cane became fed up and floated away to the ledge of the floor they were on. It looked out to the city as it spoke, "It won't be long until their wretched guild is in our sights. Then we can begin to finally cleanse this world of refuse." Caitshelter. "They're the only ones with the power to seal Nirvana once more, therefore, any of its bloodlines must end."

No one spoke, though Laura could hear Natsu's rage, then she could feel his flames. With a warcry, he charged at the cane and threw punches at it, but it kept dodging. Gray joined in the fight. Meanwhile, Lucy and Laura watched on the side with Happy. Laura stiffened when the cane started using magic to electrocute the boys.

She would have cast a spell if it didn't freeze. The cane could see something the wizards couldn't.

"No… This can not be! They all have fallen!" The cane lamented, "The six demons have been defeated!"

So Midnight had been stopped.

The glass ball fell from the cane's jaws. Fear filled it as it cried about "The Great One." It shivered and sweated despite being a skull on a stick.

"It's Brain…"

"The old bald bruiser already put that creep on the ground." Natsu casually reminded. Laura had learned to believe otherwise.

"I know that, but what you don't know is that there's another personality lurking inside him. There's a hidden face that craves only destruction. They call him Zero." The cane explained.

Crazed laughter broke out. It bounced into the walls and back. Lucy, Gray, Natsu, and Happy turned around. Laura grinned and showed her teeth. Her wild eyes couldn't hold back the memories.

"You think Brain didn't crave destruction before? Ha!" She gasped for air between phrases, "He's always been like that! He might have split his personalities but they were always there! I'm starting to think I know him better than anyone in this whole mess."

Within an instant, her face twisted into a harsh scowl and blood vessels strained on her forehead. She leaned forward as she thrust her arms out and her laughter crystalized into spikes. They zipped passed Fairy Tail and to the cane. They missed the slim target and were aimed at someone behind it instead. The spikes that would have pierced their heart were deflected by a wave of their hand.

She stared at him with malice. His red eyes burned into hers.

"Master Zero! I humbly welcome your return!" The cane bent and fell to the floor, bowing to the man. It didn't fear Brain but Zero instead. They were the same, but they weren't.

On Zero's command, the cane retreated to the corner while he threw off his cloak, showing a muscular pale top and messier iron-gray hair. Laura remained put.

Zero glowed green with magic. He decided to change his clothes with this magic. A new outfit formed around him.

"You scum. You've done an admirable job in destroying my guild, but as its master, I am bound by duty to take revenge."

Natsu and Gray joked about taking him down. They were foolish.

"I'll start with the bald one that harmed this body while Brain was in control of it." Zero then formed a large, green, glowing orb in his hands and cast it at Jura. Gray used his ice magic to block the attack.

"You'd really attack somebody who's not even able to move? You're a coward!" He yelled.

No. No coward. She would have done the same. You want a threat gone, take it down before it can do the same to you. Honor and pride caused people to do dumb things. Society may look down on you, but at least you got to live through another day.

Gray's ice shield shattered and Zero's magic threw him and Jura across the room. On instinct, Laura shouted and sent that shout to where they would land. She kept it there and kept it strong enough to cushion their fall. She stopped and they hit the ground with a more livable thump.

In fury, Natsu jumped at Zero, but a simple poke in Salamander's chest sent him flying into the wall. Lucy stood there, frightened.

Zero grinned devilishly and raised his fist. Stretching his hand out, he sent a powerful blast of light and energy at Lucy and Happy. Laura took their screams and solidified it around them to create a dome. Her ears started to bleed again. She got caught in the spell and flew into the wall, getting half-buried in rock.

"Well done, Master Zero! Very well done!" The cane fearfully praised, "One wave of your hand and those rapscallions were sent six feet under!"

"Not quite the decisive blow that was needed. These vermin are still clearly breathing down there. So it wasn't enough. I WON'T BE FINISHED UNTIL THEY'RE RIPPED TO SHREDS!!!"

If he tried that, Laura still remained conscious enough to block another spell. She watched him walk away instead. He went upstairs to watch Caitshelter's approach so he could destroy it. She was still alive, still breathing. If she could just get up-

Laura tried pushing herself up, but that took away too much energy and left her sleeping under a pile of rocks.

_

"I know how to stop Nirvana."

Muffled words smudged together. Slipping in and out of consciousness, only parts of the conversation came in.

"...hijacked my telepathy?!"

"I am Zero… allow me to commend you… destroy everything!"

"Previous subject?"

Subject. All coming in then slipping away. Darkness filled the cold room and wanted to take away these sounds.

"Destroying all lacrima at once… stop Nirvana… I'm here, destroying them simultaneously will be impossible!"

"...split up and head for all six spots."

The voices jumbled together and all sounded the same. They argued and discussed. Some could only make a whisper before slipping out for good. It hurt to get up. It hurt to keep listening.

"Laura." A voice, a very familiar voice, called to her, "Laura please get up." A pained voice that lost all hope. A young voice that lost its innocence before it knew the meaning of the word.

Other voices came. Ones that struggled to stay in the room, but they were loud enough to have names. First, Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Lucy Heartfilia, then Happy the annoying cat. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness just enough.

"M-My telepathy is about to cut out… I sent a map into your heads. I've numbered each lacrima." Hibiki. His voice made it through the thick walls of the room.

A light turned on in the room, sending energy through the building. "We'll pick a number and go to it."

A cracked stone room filled with light, this time a physical room. Fairy Tail wizards surrounded her. They were all beat and had to work to stand, but they were alive.

"I pick one." Laura said.

"I'm taking that one too." Natsu added. Dragon slayers did have acute senses of smell.

Gray claimed the second lacrima, Lucy claimed the third, Ichiya: the fourth, and Erza took the fifth. Cobra's poison hadn't killed her, thankfully.

"That leaves me with-" Something cut off the stranger's voice. It had to be a wizard in the alliance, but no faces matched. Natsu freaked out about it, but Erza brushed it off and gave the voice the sixth lacrima.

Everyone left it at that and split ways, Laura right behind Natsu down one of six long and dark tunnels. The roofs stretched tall and the walkway had been squeezed smaller, but still enough room for them to walk side-by-side.

Laura practiced her breathing. Her headache had left by now but she would need to mentally prepare herself. And emotionally.

"Are you okay back there?" Natsu asked as an ally in war more than a friend, which would be appropriate.

"I can take a beating."

"Good. But he'll be out before he hurts any of us."

A pause before she responded, "He's more powerful than you think."

Natsu stopped walking and so did she. Her heart raced with uncertainty of the sudden change in atmosphere. Good or bad, she couldn't tell. Though she had trouble differentiating the two.

He turned and looked at her with a wide smile that showed his dragon fangs. At first, he looked like the child he always acted to be, but something about his tone said otherwise.

"I've never lost a fight protecting my friends. No way is that geezer breaking my streak."

Those two sentences froze her. He kept walking, but she stood there, speechless. How much of an idiot this man- this boy could be for thinking friends gave any power. They aided you in war, but they weren't currently around. He had to fight with someone that could barely be called an acquaintance.

Then, the words sank in. Laura didn't fully understand, but she's felt his emotions before. Afterall, she would give up her life to protect her last loved one.

**A/N: **Hewwo! I hope everyone is doing well during this chaos. Stay safe!


	19. Chapter 19

The hallway opened into a giant, circular, stone brick room. The walkway ahead dipped into a bowl-like floor with a tower standing in the center. Resting atop it was a giant spherical lacrima glowing with power. Zero stood at the bottom.

His evil chuckling brought ashes. Melted black stained the ground. But time had passed and there had been years of growth. Over a decade of training urged her to stab through Zero's chest and make him watch it be crushed with bare hands.

Her foot shifted. Zero's red eyes turned to her. She lifted her foot and stomped on the stone brick ground, using Sound Burst to propel herself into the air. "Solid Weapon: Polearm!" Laura shouted, turning her words into a crystallized pink polearm as she fell back down. The blade pointed at Zero's head, but he only took a step forward to dodge.

The blade pierced into the stone and Laura used it to kick herself up and swing her legs around to kick his head. He shifted his torso downwards to dodge again. She lifted the polearm from the ground and swung it at him before stabbing, then created a dagger and threw it as the polearm blew away like dust. Zero had effortlessly avoided all of it.

She leaped back and crouched down, catching her breath while anticipating his attack.

"Don't go fighting on your own! We're a team, remember?" Natsu shouted from his spot, which he hasn't moved from since arriving.

"I know what I'm doing," Laura called back.

Zero cast his hand out and pointed his two fingers at her, "Dark Capricio!"

She jumped out of the way, but he moved his arm to change the magical beam's direction. The green magic chased after her. She created a pink dome from his crazed laughs, which only lasted a few seconds. The beam shot through and hit her.

Laura's head hit the ground and she couldn't react in time to completely block the next hit, then the next. Natsu's yelling directed the attention to him and he started swinging flaming fists and kicks at Zero. None of them landed a hit.

_Let's try this again… _Using Crystal Armour, a glove formed from the sound of her breaths. She straightened her back and pointed her arm out, carefully aiming at Zero. Natsu had backed away when Zero had attacked. Before she could attack, someone else's fire magic hit Natsu and knocked him to the ground.

"Who's there?!" Zero's furious voice echoed throughout the room. Laura shook her arm and blew the glove away. Maintaining it hurt too much.

Coming from one of the hallways stood a young man with blue hair and a fancy red mark around his eye. His hand was glowing with fire.

"Jellal!" Natsu growled. Lyla had reacted similarly when they were looking for Wendy. From what she had gathered he was a man who was once Erza's friend, but then he had done something horrible and betrayed her and caused everyone else to despise him.

Looking around, Zero spoke to Jellal, Jellal spoke to Zero and Natsu, and Natsu couldn't take his eyes off of Jellal. They were all distracted. They forgot a woman stood behind them. A single sound outside of their voices and they would be reminded of her.

They had to destroy the lacrima in sync with the other five, so breaking it while everyone had eyes on someone else would be no use. If something could be timed to match the countdown…

Pockets. Laura had pockets. Bags of dust bombs. She always kept some on her. They weren't destructive but could work in her favor with enough ingenuity.

"Did you forget flames don't work on me?!"

"Yes, briefly, but I remembered just in time."

Some of the conversations slipped through the planning. The string on Laura's cloak had her preoccupied. If she could get a long enough strand…

"Only _you _can stop Zero." Jellal's words slowed her, but she got back on track. She growled softly at the string. How difficult could tying thread around a pouch be?!

"Only my memories of Natsu had returned. I'm determined to stop Nirvana."

So Jellal has amnesia…

"Yes!" Laura whispered in triumph. All of her dust bombs were tied in a line. She secured them around her waist and took out a final pouch. She scanned the area, then locked onto the lacrima towering above her.

"It's time to make amends. I want to help protect Wendy's guild."

That got her attention.

Amends? Jellal had done villainous things to Fairy Tail no one would forgive him. Everyone would cast him out or throw him in jail. That's what happened to all criminals, of course.

"I don't believe you!" Natsu jumped up and right hooked Jellal's cheek. It made her flinch, but she expected that reaction.

He grabbed the collar of Jellal's dark cloak and lifted him, continuing to yell. Hesitantly, Laura counted her steps backward and imagined the impact. She took a few more steps back and poured the dust onto the floor. Then she tossed the empty bag aside and rubbed the pile of dust into the floor, making it stand out from the debris from fighting Zero.

Zero… Rage coursed through Laura. "How pathetic. If you're going to argue, _must _you do it in front of me?" He cast his arm out and green magic slithered from his hand. Jellal jumped in front of Natsu and took the hit.

It didn't kill him, but he collapsed in pain.

"Why Jellal?" Natsu echoed Laura's thoughts. No efforts could redeem him for whatever he had done. If Fiore -The kingdom- couldn't forgive a couple of thieves, how could _he _even live?

"Go ahead and kill me, if that's what you have to do." Jellal said through grunts of pain, "But first, let me give you the power you need to defeat him." He held out his hand. Golden flames sparked to life in his palm. Natsu stared at it in awe. Laura did as well. Such pure gold. Somehow, no smoke followed the flames.

Natsu took Jellal's hand and the flames traveled to his body. He started scarfing it all down. Zero let him.

Jellal hadn't been forgiven yet. It would take more than a few actions to earn that honor.

Natsu charged at Zero, finally landing a hit. He picked him up and threw him across the room. Laura jogged to Jellal, slowing her pace as she neared him.

Her shadow caught his attention. She glared at him with a dark look, but he kept a still face.

"I have no memory of you." He said calmly.

"We met in the cave." Laura's stone words were followed by Natsu's Fire Dragon Roar in the background. She waited for the spell to finish before continuing, "Why do you want to stop Nirvana?"

"To save Wendy's guild."

"You think that'll prove anything?"

Jellal smiled, "As I said, I want to make amends for my actions. Even if I don't remember them."

She frowned, a touch of anger in her voice, "I wasn't there when you attacked Fairy Tail, but I know you did things worse than me." She crouched down, "What makes you think your pointless actions will do anything?"

His voice didn't falter. He stared into her and told her, "I know I will most likely never make up what I've done, but I don't have to be a 'good' person to help."

He turned to look at Natsu. Laura did the same. Golden flames engulfed his body. He- _He _was a good person. Laura wasn't, but they could still work together.

"Salamander!" Laura stood up, all eyes now on her, "Take care of that bastard! I got the rest."

Natsu's lips pulled back into a determined grin. "Alright! You got it!"

Then the ground cracked beneath him. A green light shone through just before it crumbled and dropped him several floors. Zero stood up after casting the spell and peered over the edge of the gaping hole left behind.

"Don't tell me I've already defeated the mighty dragon slayer."

Laura formed her glove again, pointing her arm at his shoulder blade. She gripped her arm to prepare for recoil and fired. The piece of armor flew across the room and slammed right into the target. He fell back and into the hole.

She hurried to the edge and watched him fall deeper into the dark. He didn't scream or yell, just grinned up at her with that sickening mockery of a smile. It took some time before green magic and fire were thrown at each other at the bottom.

Laura recollected her thoughts and brought herself back to the task. It was going to be a few more minutes before everyone would destroy their designated lacrima.

With nothing else to do, she walked to the spot she marked and sat in the dust. She closed her eyes and listened. The last few spells made her ears bleed once more. Her mother's ears didn't bleed when using magic. The woman had known something about her powers and never got the chance to tell Laura. Now, the daughter had to use her magic sparingly.

Freezing and gathering noise pierced her ears. She had to concentrate on the sound, then listen to its pitch and volume morph and transform as she collected it into armor or weapons, or scatter it into sand or harden it into a protective dome. It would change to such extremes that the human ear couldn't pick up, but her ears could, and it hurt every single time.

Time passed slowly. Three more minutes to count down. Laura snapped the thread and held the line of pouches in her hands. She couldn't waste any magical energy. The lacrima would have to shatter with one spell.

Three minutes… Laura placed the pouches in her lap. It's been too long since she's let out a soft hum, then captured it in her palms. Pink light glowed around the hum. It grew louder, then quieter, then higher and lower. The skill had become easier after years of practice, but the song would occasionally falter or change into the wrong note. She still had no complete control over it. A factor could be not practicing for years straight. Perhaps she had gotten worse since last time. Unlike her mama...

Something rumbled underneath. A massive quantity of magical energy exploded from lower floors in Nirvana. The time! Less than thirty seconds.

Laura jumped up. She stared the lacrima down. A single small bag of dust made a soft thump when hitting the ground, but a reasonable supply of them with sound magic could make the whole city deaf.

Brilliant!

Fifteen seconds, then ten. Laura took a deep breath and braced herself. She took the thread and the end of the line and swung it in the air. She swung it down as quickly and as hard as possible. Dust flew everywhere.

"Magnify!"

The small thumps on old stone multiplied in volume and became an explosion. He threw her arms out in the lacrima's direction. It cracked, then shattered under the pressure.

Nirvana shook and started to fall. It threwLaura to the wall and smoke and dust filled the room. Her eyes watered and she couldn't stop coughing.

"Hey! Laura!"

Her head turned to the source. Natsu waved at her between clouds of smoke and dust. She stood up and approached him on wobbly legs. The whole floor started to crack around them. Rocks and rubbled fells from above.

They exchanged looks and wordlessly communicated. _Run._

Laura bolted down the closest hallway. Jellal didn't fall too bar behind her and Natsu. Sounds were muffled and distant. She couldn't hear where the rocks would fall. It was a pain.

A voice shouted, but the blood made it indistinguishable. Something grabbed her arm and pulled her back right before a boulder crushed into the ground.

Hoteye had her arm. He held Natsu and a mostly unconscious Jellal on one arm. Then he picked her up and used his earth magic to drill a hole through the ground and to a safer spot.

Richard. He wanted to be called Richard. Nirvana had converted him to the 'good' side, so now he helped others with no selfish gain in mind.

Nirvana's shaking grew softer. Soon enough, Richard popped up from the ground and announced himself to the other wizards.

Trees surrounded them. They were on a wide dirt path in the middle of the forest. Nirvana could be seen in the distance, still falling and crumbling on impact. Wendy, Gray, Erza, Lucy, Happy, Carla, Ichiya, and Jura had regrouped. The sight of Jura still alive left a good feeling in Laura's chest.

Richard placed Laura, Natsu, and Jellal on the ground. Wendy ran up and hugged Natsu full of happy tears. Laura couldn't hear every word clearly, but the overall conversation seemed… wholesome.

They stopped hugging and high-fived each other. Laura walked up and tapped Wendy's shoulder, pointing at her ears.

She held her hands out. Laura kneeled and let Wendy do her whole glowing hands things.

"How do you get your ears hurt twice in one day?"

Words became clearer, but washing out the blood later would help.

"I can be reckless."

Now being healed, she could hear chains and heavy, synchronized footsteps. A large group of armored men approached them. Laura stayed alert, but let everyone else congratulate each other on defeating Nirvana and the Oracion Seis. No more Zero, no more Brain, no more Bureau.

"Who's that?" Gray asked quietly. The alliance turned to Jellal leaning against a small wall of rock away from them.

Laura gave a sidelong gaze to Erza. According to the minuscule context she had received, she had been hurt the most by him.

"It's Jellal." She stated. Gray and Lucy had reacted negatively to it. Wendy started to explain to them his amnesia.

Laura found an empty spot and sat cross-legged. She listened to the armored footsteps. They were much closer. The people knew exactly where they were going. She had used all of her magical energy, and physical attacks would be useless.

"My face!"

Ichiya couldn't move forwards. Something invisible smushed against his face when he tried. With closer inspection, the group found solid script magic surrounding them. It contained them in an invisible box. Everyone freaked out while Laura sat in silence.

The footsteps grew louder until soldiers surrounded the wizards. All were dressed in iron armor and wore the crest of the Magic Council.

"There's no need to panic. We mean you no harm." One council member stepped forward. He stood tall with long hair neatly brushed and held up in a bun. He introduced himself as.

"I am the captain of the new Magic Council's fourth Custody Enforcement Unit: Lahar. And this is my army. It is my duty to uphold the law and-"

"'And preserve justice throughout the land.' The Council is just some 'parents' trying to juggle raising a bunch of stupid guilds as 'kids'. Those dark guilds are just rebellious teenagers." Laura approached Lahar with a powerful stride. She stopped just before the solid script enchantment had been written. She stared at the captain with a blank expression.

"Laura Ragstone."

"_Captain _Lahar."

"You two know each other?!" The alliance exploded with bafflement. They took no notice.

"I'm on a new record now, aren't I? I've been off the radar for some time."

"Yes, that made it tricky for us to keep tabs until you settled on another guild. You aren't who we're here for, however. We've come under orders to take the Oracion Seis into custody. I ask that you please cooperate and hand over the member codenamed: Hoteye."

Jura protested this vehemently, but Richard calmed him down and willingly surrendered. Two soldiers came forward, cuffed him, and walked him to a dark steel carriage that would take him to jail.

"Now we must capture our true objective." Lahar said, "A fiendish creature who infiltrated and destroyed the Council. And fire the Etherion Cannon. A man who is more villainous than the Oracion Seis put together. Truly Black of Heart. I'm referring to you, Jellal."

Wizards behind protested against his arrest, then Laura spoke out, "If you're rounding up all the criminals here, why don't you take me in too?"

"We haven't been given any orders mentioning you. We will take any other surviving member of the Oracion Seis and they'll all be brought to justice." Lahar spoke over two other soldiers cuffing Jellal and taking him to the carriage. Wendy begged for him to stay. No effort worked with Lahar.

"Obedient bitch," Laura mumbled.

Lahar stared at her, then ordered a nearby soldier to take down the enchantment barrier. Laura brushed him off and returned to where she last sat. She watched, like the rest of the alliance, Jellal be taken into the carriage where Richard waited.

"Hold it right there!" Natsu yelled, pushing two soldiers aside. A dozen more men rushed to restrain him. The other's quickly jumped in to defend Jellal.

"He's done one good deed! That must mean something! He's innocent!" They all said. Laura snarled. They would all be punished for fighting the Council's soldiers. All of her allies were even dumber than she thought.

A rustling came from the bushes behind. Finally, something not so disgustingly dumb.

"The hell took you so long? I'm tired and annoyed." Laura looked up at the figure from the bushes. They calmly walked past her and toward Lahar.

"Goddammit, Lahar," Lyla sighed, "you're fucking things up even worse." Then she gave him a satisfying punch in the face. He collapsed, but Lyla grabbed his expensive coat and dragged him away.

She passed Laura, who whispered, "You're explaining a lot when we get back." before the two disappeared deep into the foliage

Caitshelter graciously let the alliance stay in their village for the night. When the morning came, they also gave them brand new clothes. The girls were in one building to dress and admire their outfits with the men in the other.

Laura stood in front of a tall mirror, turning back and forth to see all angles of her outfit. She wore a bright and colorful dress short enough to reveal her lower thigh. Silver arm cuffs and ribbon came as decoration.

"You look nice," Lyla whispered soft enough for only Laura to hear.

"Thanks," Laura replied, looking at Lyla's reflection.

Lyla wore white men's pants and a black crop top that revealed her back and the tail for her Fairy Tail emblem on her chest. Scars traced over every inch of visible skin. She still couldn't stand feminine clothes, could she?

"You have better ears, but I can tell you don't sound…"

"Happy we beat Oracion Seis?" Laura asked.

"That."

She sighed and stopped posing. Her figure took up less space. "I don't know if it's because I never knew him until now… but Jellal…"

Lyla's reflection creased her eyebrows. Jellal still went to jail and still had to face punishment. Even though he won most of the alliance's friendship, it left Erza depressed and Lyla…

Laura turned and walked to Lyla, "I heard his charges. He's not a good person, but he did a _lot. _Natsu wouldn't be able to fight Zero while I broke the lacrima if he didn't come help.

Lyla opened her mouth to speak, but Sherry interrupted and spoke to Wendy, "I can't believe that you had absolutely no idea everyone in this guild but _you were_ a descendent of the Nirvit."

"Well yeah! I was the only one who joined after it was born."

Sherry and Wendy continued talking about Caitshelter and their people. Erza stayed to the side, sulking. Lyla snuck off while everyone dealt with other things. Laura decided not to follow. It could be Jellal or it could be something else, but if Lyla wanted anyone to know she would tell it to those people.

Carla spoke out, reminding the room that the rest of the village and alliance were waiting for them to finish. Even the cat wore a colorful little dress.

The girl exited the building and joined their allies in the middle of a wide and large dirt intersection. The village had few houses on the corners with the guild at the end of one road. There were plenty of patches of tilled dirt surrounded in healthy, bright green grass. Clusters of trees grew throughout the hilly landscape and into the forest around the village.

In the center of the intersection, the alliance stood together on one side with the village facing them on the other. Wendy joined her guild's side.

While the old guild master and chief of Caitshelter thanked and congratulated each guild, Laura took the time to take in the fresh air with deep breaths. Birds sung in the distance and wind rustled the leaves of trees. It had been some time since she listened to nature's songs.

Each wizard beating their happy melody. Their voices were full of glee and they cheered in their victory, but the villagers didn't. Their heartbeats had no rhythm. They had no heartbeats. They didn't breathe in or out. The villagers were just there, existing.

Then, she realized that only those alive had to breathe to keep their hearts beating.

**A/N: **Ugh... I'm so sorry! *hides behind school book* I didn't mean to. Finals are stressful though... and Syaleo(this is what my bestie and coauthor is going by now. I don't know if I've mentioned this.) is moving. *peeks out* Also, for the next two months, we'll be posting 'filler'. We're just going to be working on getting some more of the next arc done. It's less filler for now, but it may end up just being that. Hopefully, it won't take too long, but we'll see. I hope you guys enjoy it! Please leave any ideas for something fun you'd want to see too!


	20. Chapter 20

Smoke clouded the early morning light streaming into the kitchen. Laura hurried over to the waffle iron and yanked out the waffles before they could catch fire. She sighed heavily. Since they had come back from Caitshelter, Lyla had spent more of her time in her room than anywhere else, so Laura had been unofficially put on cooking duty. It was not going well.

Laura placed the pan on the stove. She grabbed a match and started the fire underneath the pan. She stepped over to the fridge and took the tray of eggs from the refrigerator while she waited for the pan to heat up.

Last time she had tried to use the stove, the house had almost burnt down. Hopefully, it would go better this time since Laura would be more careful with the temperature and time.

Her mind began to wander as she leaned against the counter and watched the flames. Finding Nirvana had been a trip, but it, thankfully, ended several days ago. Everyone had settled back into their houses and continued like normal. Fairy Tail had even managed to gain a new member-Wendy Marvell.

The girl had no human parents. A dragon had raised her just like Natsu and the metalhead slayer, whatever his name was, in their guild. In a way, she could relate to those three.

The wizard shook herself before cracking the first egg open. She did it a little too forcefully and it splattered into the pan, instantly sizzling and steaming. She reached for the spatula and waited. She was good at waiting.

With nothing else to distract her, all the thoughts she tried to ignore would barge into her home. More memories that she didn't care to think of.

Solid like stone, Laura stood and breathed in deeply. The scent of the waffles cooling on a plate to the side was nice. She enjoyed the light shining through the open windows and onto her, warming her toned skin and making it look like it was glowing. She looked at her old and torn black cloak and sandy brown pants. They seemed to absorb the light as it hit her.

Annoyance flickered over her serene features. If Master Makarov had paid Lyla and her, she would buy a new outfit. Perhaps, if they had any jewel leftover, she could buy a new, prettier outfit. She'd like to have something nicer since she didn't like to live in one set of clothes. The other teenagers in Magnolia always seemed to be laughing and goofing off. They spent their parents' money or their own if they had a job. It seemed fun.

A burnt smell filled the kitchen and stung her nose. Laura looked up and saw the egg had turned black. Smoke once again filled the room. She quickly started trying to scrape it off, but it stuck firmly to the bottom.

"Damn it." She had forgotten to add the butter. She stomped over to the trashcan by the doorway of the kitchen and scraped the charred mess into it. It couldn't even be called an egg anymore. At least it hadn't caught fire this time. "Cooking and all its bloody dumb rules."

She muttered more complaints while cleaning the pan and trying again. This time with the butter. Lyla mentioned Sorren and his family cooked. Sorren was particularly good at it.

She remembered that his father owned a shop and was skilled in butchery. Lyla would also occasionally go on tangents about his brothers. Especially one named Uragi, who still lived with his parents as the youngest. Laura had no interest in Sorren's family or Sorren. He talked too much and drank too much. No one could find that respectable. Plus he didn't deserve to take Lyla from her.

Lyla had said multiple times that maybe Sorren's mother could teach her how to cook. At least she hadn't mentioned letting Sorren teach her. Laura growled in rage. She didn't want any reason to hate him less.

Boots tapped on the wooden balcony from the second floor. Laura turned away from her train of thought and glanced at the window. Lyla stood there, leaning over the railing and gazing at Magnolia. She had good tastes in houses. This one had a memorable view and good placement. She wondered how much it cost.

Laura dropped her gaze back into the kitchen and scraped the slightly burnt scrambled eggs onto the smaller plate beside the waffles. She sighed in annoyance. If anything, she wanted to cook over-easy eggs. Like her Pa.

Footsteps softly tapped on the floor of the dark living room. Lyla's head poked around the doorway into the kitchen. She came in one of the windows. The sunlight highlighted her hair as she walked into the kitchen.

Laura turned away from the younger teen and went to the fridge. She pulled out half-gallon cartons of orange juice and milk.

"Which one?" She asked.

Lyla stared at the eggs, then said, "Milk."

Laura nodded and placed both cartons on the island in the kitchen. She picked two glass cups from the cabinets and filled one with orange juice and the other with milk.

Lyla took a seat at the island while Laura split the food evenly onto two plates. She placed them on the island, grabbed two forks, and sat in the seat next to Lyla.

She started eating the scrambled eggs slowly. Parts were blackened and burnt, but not as bad as her first attempt this morning. Cooking over a stove shouldn't be any different than a campfire, but they seemed to need different skills.

A thunk echoed from the marble countertop.

"Sounds pretty bad," Laura said to Lyla, keeping her eyes on her food.

Another thunk.

"We can visit the bakery if you don't like the food."

"No. It's not like your cooking will poison me." Lyla groaned and hit her head again. She turned her head to Laura, her cheek squishing her concealed eye. The scar that ran down her face peeked out from behind her hair.

"You didn't sleep well."

"Yeah."

It had to be something from Nirvana.

Lyla stood up and took her plate to the fridge. She placed it on a shelf and closed the door. She stood silently and stared at the fridge as Laura watched. She turned to her and gave a weak attempt at a smile, "How about you? We dealt some pretty, heh, _deep-rooted_ stuff."

Laura flatly stared at her. "I don't appreciate that."

"What? The pun?"

"_That." _She sighed, "And the act."

"There's no act."

"Yes, there is."

"Be-leaf me, no."

"You can put on a show anywhere but in this house. I don't like it when you do things differently with me." Laura crossed her arms.

Lyla stared at her for a few moments. "We need to get you a dictionary."

"This isn't about my poor grammar. This is about you deciding to lie to me."

"It's not poor grammar, it's a lack of vocabulary." She corrected.

"Stop changing the subject!"

Silence took over. One glared at the other with disappointment. The other refused to meet her eyes.

Blue flames caught Laura's eye. She got up a little too quickly and ran to turn off the stove. She sighed before leaning against the counter. She still looked disappointed when she looked back at Lyla.

"I just don't want to worry you, you know?" The smaller teen said, "It's nothing I can't handle. I promise." She rubbed her arm anxiously.

Laura considered her words, then straightened her stance, "It's okay. Talk to me when you want." Her friend looked so small right now. She patted Lyla's shoulder gently, "I always got your back."

She smiled softly and exited the kitchen. She walked outside the back glass door. Her smile fell as she walked away from the house. The treeline of the forest wasn't too far. A bit of climbing would calm her.

Laura didn't want to, but Lyla had insisted. Whether it was to distract herself or simply to visit guildmates, they were currently in the guildhall. Wizards laughed and whooped and hollered and yelled, surrounding her with all kinds of annoying chatter.

From a dark corner on the second floor, she peered down and watched Makarov clumping around with angrily yelling. He was calling for Lyla to show herself from the ocean of wizards. He couldn't interrogate Sorren. The drunk bastard had finished all of the booze before lunch. He probably had already anyway. He had rested his snoring head on the bar table, hugging a large wooden cup. From the distance between them, she assumed it was empty.

The blond - Lucy Heartfilia - talked with Wendy and Carla at a table. Happy sat next to them, trying to make conversation. The two girls had left Caitshelter and joined Fairy Tail. Their guild had to leave and neither Wendy or Carla could join them. With nowhere else to call home, Fairy Tail offered them spots in the guild, and they accepted. Now there were two annoying cats, but at least one spent too much time drooling over the other to talk.

Boots clicking on the polished wood caught Laura's attention. She whipped her head to the man approaching her, her body quickly tensing. He motioned with his hands for her to ease up, and she did.

"It's nice to see you back." Macao Conbolt said. The man had slicked back dark blue hair stubble around his lips. He wore a white cloak with a shirt and pants and a silver chain around his neck keeping the large "S" to his chest.

"Am I supposed to say 'It's nice to be back?'"

He laughed awkwardly, "If you are, yes! I decided to drop by, that's all." He said, "Romeo missed you too. You should say hi to him."

"I-" She looked up at him, "I'll make sure to see him before I leave today."

Macao placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "It really is good to have you back." Then he walked downstairs to catch up with his friends.

Laura paused at his smile, then returned to looking out over the hall. Lyla had joined Sorren at the bar. They were talking and having fun.

She turned away and started looking for Romeo, Macao's son. Memories of first meeting him came back into mind. It traced further back in time to first arriving at Fairy Tail and noticing Macao. It took her days to realize they were the same person. It had been years, after all.

A young boy with dark hair and brown eyes watched Natsu and Gray bickering and headbutting each other like rams. She walked down the wooden steps and maneuvered between guildmates. Luckily, Romeo sat at an empty wooden table. Unluckily, a bunch of full tables surrounded it. Even from the second floor, she had a headache.

Romeo turned from the arguing and his face lit up at the sight of her.

"Laura!" He shouted, waving her over. Other wizards glanced their way. Some didn't know Laura enough to care. Some didn't know Laura enough to not care. The kid sounded so excited.

"Looks like you got a good view." She told him as she took the chair next to him.

"Yeah! I hope Natsu will win!"

Laura cocked her head, "Natsu? His head is nothing but a block of coal." She leaned forward in her seat. She watched with Romeo, trying to see what made it so interesting. Gray and Natsu exchanged poorly thought out insults while standing on top of a table. The guild took it in as if it was a show. "They're children!" She spoke to herself.

Romeo kept his eyes locked on the duo, too excited to hear her. She scoffed and rested her head on her hand, staring at them, bored. She couldn't look at Gray. Not Fullbuster. Instead, she kept her attention on the salamander. She focused on his name only. The other brought back things she didn't have time to worry about.

"Do you like Gray?"

Laura whipped her head to Romeo, whose eyes filled with genuine curiosity. She stared back at him with equally genuine disgust.

"It's okay if you do." He continued, "The water lady over there might get mad, though." He pointed to the wall across from the two main idiots. Juvia, a woman formerly from a guild named Phantom Lord, watched Gray. Her hand gripped the wooden beam she hid behind strong enough to rip a chunk out.

"I won't mess with her. And that ice guy is too stupid." She said, "I thought boys your age aren't interested in love?"

"I'm not. If anything I think it's gross."

"I do too," she muttered. Laura held her hands out as if the reason as to why children were confusing would appear magically. She shook it off and kept her eyes on the table instead. She could at least focus on something a little simpler.

If her life followed through how others planned, she'd be in a town thousands of miles away. She would have gone to school, get a normal job, _maybe _make friends, but she would have never been able to see Lyla again.

Her eyes began drifting around the guildhall again until they settled on Macao. He too became a part of the audience, laughing with a man named Wakaba. He had grown. He had offered her a different life as well. Maybe she could have grown up with Romeo. That could have been very nice.

Laura hid her mouth behind her fingers, trying not to laugh at the idea of a "happy" life. Maybe, _maybe _if she wasn't so heartbroken and scared, she would have taken Macao's offer. She could have been the older sibling, and seen Lyla sooner, and get to know the wizards better with so many years spent at the guild.

"Droopy eyes!"

"Slanty eyes!"

Natsu and Gray started throwing magic into their fight, knocking into tables near Laura and Romeo.

"You're such children!" Lyla tiredly shouted from the table across from them. She sighed and turned to Romeo, "Actually, even a kid your age could do better, right?"

Laura gave her a look that said, "You've been listening in on us?"

With a sly grin, Lyla stood up from her table and claimed the chair across from Laura. She leaned in and said, "Didn't know you socialized."

"I got bored." Laura crossed her arms, "Romeo's the most mature one here."

Lyla whistled, mockingly impressed, "You can say more than five words at a time?"

Laura gave her a flat look. Lyla's eyebrows twisted and her lips curved into a toothy grin.

A loud explosion brought the table's attention back to Natsu and Gray. They reincorporated physical attacks into the fight. Bored wizards jumped up and started throwing in their punches. A glorified bar fight had begun. And Laura's ears would hate her for sticking around.

Heavy footsteps stomped towards them. Master Makarov had a terrifying glare directed towards Lyla. He grabbed the back of her collar and dragged her to his office. Laura did nothing. Makarov would get to her next.

Romeo opened his mouth to ask. Laura answered before he could ask. "We… might have broken some rules."

"What? Really?!"

"The master told us not to leave to fight Oracion Seis, but we did anyway."

Romeo stood on his chair, leaning into Laura's personal space with twinkling eyes. "That's so cool! You're brave enough to disobey the master!"

Laura paused. Then echoed, "Brave enough to disobey the master." Years ago, she had a reason to be fearful of him. Now, maybe not so much.

**A/N:** AGH... I... did it again. I'm grounded this time... I'm sorry. *sniffles*


	21. Chapter 21

Despite her wishes, Lyla dragged Laura to a quieter spot in Magnolia. At least she had that going for her. Fewer people crowded the roads. The closer they neared their destination, the more deserted the area became. Sorren led the way to a niche of shops. The road had a shoemaker, painter, potter, florist, and on the corner, there was a blacksmith. They didn't sell almost any weapons or armor with a large wizard guild in town.

Sorren stopped at the tailor's. The clean windows showed a crisp image of bright and colorful clothes dressing on mannequins. Flowers of the same color palette hung from the ceiling framed the designs beautifully. The seams were skillfully sewn and each outfit had a unique taste to give each mannequin their personality.

Laura glanced at the sign above the front door and groaned. Lyla suggested they get new clothes after Nirvana ruined their old ones. She didn't mention the owner would be one of Sorren's relatives. The wooden sign read, "_Colander's Designs," _in an elegant font.

Sorren opened the glass door and a small bell jingled. Lyla entered first. Laura approached when Sorren walked in and closed the door behind him. She glared at him as she opened the door for herself.

The shop had one room with a cash register in the corner. The wall behind it had a doorway with a curtain covering the top half.

When no one responded to the bell, Sorren walked back and flicked it for it to jingle again.

"I'm coming!" A young man's voice called from the doorway. He walked through the curtain with his head still focussing on his open sketchbook in hand. Charcoal covered his hands black. Laura instead focused on his long brown hair. A red ribbon tied most of it back, but he had to brush some strands behind his ears.

He looked up, seeing Sorren, "Oh," then returning to his sketchbook. Laura and Lyla exchanged bemused looks.

Sorren cleared his throat. The man looked up a second time and noticed the women in the group.

"Oh!" He smiled, "You didn't say you would bring friends!"

"I thought Mom would have told you…" Sorren replied. So they were brothers.

Sorren's brother placed his sketchbook and pencil on an end table next to the doorway. Then he went to the shelf against the wall of the register and took a notebook and writing pencil.

"She did." He said, "Though she said you'd bring _a _friend with you."

"I did. I brought a friend and…" Sorren scowled at Laura, "_her _friend."

Laura sneered back at him.

Lyla, her back already turned to the other two, approached the man and introduced herself. She held out her hand and he shook it.

"I'm Tairal. Sorren's older brother."

"Only by two years."

"Sorry, _who's_ the one with a stable income?"

Laura stifled a laugh, but she couldn't help but grin. Sorren didn't notice.

Tairal walked up to Laura and held out his hand. She tensed. The charcoal seemed too black. Even his fingernails were stained.

He recoiled his hand and apologized, "I should have cleaned my hands before. Sorry." He took a step away from her and flipped to an empty page in his notebook. "What will you ladies want? I can stitch up your old outfit or make something new," he said, "I could even add something extra to your current outfits. A few colors here and there wouldn't hurt."

"We'd like new outfits. Something warmer." Lyla said.

"Ah~ Of course! For the coming winter! Smart." He hurried to the curtain, "Allow me to collect some things. It shouldn't take long!" And disappeared behind it. It seemed he already had some ideas in mind?

The trio looked at each other. Sorren started to say something but shrugged and left before he said anything. He took Tairal's sketchbook before entering the back room.

Lyla ambled around the shop. A couple of children's mannequins caught Laura's attention and pulled her over. They were on the floor, unlike the adult mannequins. Their clothes were just as unique and beautiful.

Footsteps approached from behind her. She turned her head and saw Tairal standing right behind her.

"I hope it doesn't bother you if I stand here?"

Laura crossed her arms. "No." She said. Tairal took a step to the side and admired his creations with her.

"I encourage you to buy anything you like. I've never made the same outfit twice.."

She scanned each female mannequin. She frowned. Nothing felt suitable for a guild wizard's work.

"I guess I haven't made anything that suits you yet," Tairal said to either himself or Laura. It was unclear.

Laura kept quiet, trying to word what she wanted to say. Giggling from the backroom broke her thought. Lyla wasn't in the shop with them anymore. Tairal heard it too. He walked to the doorway and flipped the curtain up.

"Sorren!" He griped. Laura peeked into the room from behind and became overrun with walls full of paper. There were outfit sketches and patches of different colored cloth pinned to the wall. Some papers were painted and others were grayscale.

Tairal sighed. Sorren sat in a chair and had his feet on the wooden desk to the side. More ripped out papers covered the desk and spilled from the bottom drawer of a small storage box of art supplies. The organization didn't look like it made it to the back.

"Please," Tairal pinched the bridge of his nose, "come back to the front."

Sorren hopped up with a crooked smile as he bounced past Tairal. The man shook his head. He looked at the notebook in his hand.

"Measurements!" He clapped his hands together, "I hope you don't mind but I need to make sure your outfits will fit, of course."

Lyla went first. Laura watched. Tairal kept asking Lyla questions that thankfully weren't too personal. They were simple things like, "What's your profession?" and "What do you like to do in your free time?"

Laura answered these hesitantly when it came to her turn, but they got the job done with a bit of coaxing from Lyla. Tairal kept going to his notebook and scribbling something on the paper.

When they finished, Tairal stood up and bowed, thanking them.

"I'll get to work on your new clothes immediately." He said, "They should be done in about two days."

That seemed like an extremely short amount of time. He glanced between the looks on the girls' faces and explained, "It's been slow. Spring's usually my busiest time. Things will pick up soon though."

"He sleeps here too!" Sorren shouted from the front room. A vein twitched on Tairal's forehead. He breathed his visible frustration out before smiling and saying, "I'll see you two soon. It's been pleasant having you."

He took them to join Sorren. When Laura walked through the curtain, Tairal asked "I hope we can chat more, Laura. Do you like seafood?"

"Tairal, stop flirting! She's too rude to be your girlfriend." Sorren called back. Lyla chuckled. Laura clenched her fists.

Tairal walked them outside and waved goodbye. Sorren led the way and began a conversation for lunch.

"I want to go to the bakery!" Lyla exclaimed and rushed to the building. Laura followed closely behind.

They slowed when reaching the louder part of town. Lyla didn't use her shadow shift or teleport them. Laura would have preferred it even if her stomach would be upset with her for a while.

They entered the bakery and greeted the baker. Sorren found a table while Lyla ordered food. Laura saw a plate of pound cake in the display case next to the counter and suggested Lyla buy it. She did. Together they carried the small plates to the table and began stuffing their mouths. Sorren had some qualms about their meal.

"I'm all one for sweets," He said, "but seriously? Dessert for lunch"

Lyla retorted, "Shut up! It's our money we're spending!"

Sorren raised his hands in mock surrender. He leaned back in his chair and let them have their fill.

Laura enjoyed a red velvet cupcake with sprinkles. She planned to eat the tarts next.

"Her idea." Lyla pointed to Laura. Sorren and her began laughing. Laura glared at both of them while she straightened her back and wiped her mouth. Crumbs and icing covered the napkin.

"Assholes…" She murmured.

"You love us," Lyla teased.

"Only you, and that's debatable." Laura popped a tart into her mouth.

"Come on, don't lie."

"Don't worry." Sorren said, "The feeling is mutual." He glowered at Laura. She readily did the same in return.

They finished their sweets along with some arguing. Lyla convinced them it would be best to head home before things escalated. Sorren waved Lyla goodbye and the girls trekked to their house. It remained silent between them for the majority.

The silence was enjoyable. No wind blew across the field of grass. No strangers walked by them. Only the scuffing of their boots on a dirt road remained.

With peace, there was time to think. They had only returned from Nirvana some days ago. Makarov had a few words for Laura, but nothing too severe than what she had become accustomed to.

"I have a question." Laura began, waiting for Lyla to signal she was listening. "What were you and that _bitch_ talking about?" It was easy to tell she wasn't referring to either of the Colanders, but the only other person she had spoken to -the council's dog- Lahar. Lyla _had_ punched him and dragged him off before they arrested Jellal.

"Simple stuff." Lyla shrugged. "A warning or two. Those kinds of things."

Her heart raced as soon as Laura asked the question, telling her that her friend wasn't being completely truthful. For now, she wouldn't press any further.

They arrived at the front door of their secluded house. Lyla unlocked the door and hurried upstairs.

"Lyla." Laura said from ground level, "Shouldn't we…" Now how to word it, "We ran into Brain on Nirvana. You could get more energy from its magic, fought Cobra, and…"

"I _regained _my magical energy. And you're saying we should train?" Lyla corrected as she continued upstairs. Laura followed her and made note of the new word.

"Yeah. Our abilities."

Lyla took them to the attic. She pulled down the ladder and climbed up. Laura followed suit and took in the new area. They had never been in each other's room before. It was their safe place.

A closet rested against the wall near the entrance. Lyla took off her boots from her bed opposite of it. There were a few boxes that hid in the corner. On the wall hung a giant wire wheel that touched the floor and wooden rafters of the house. It had metal sheaths to hold knives in the circumference. There were clips on the wire to hold countless other blades.

"Nice." Laura complimented, "Started collecting after we were separated?"

Lyla nodded. She came over and spun the wheel. "It took a while to install. I had a bigger one back at the council."

She unsheathed a knife and began flipping and twirling it.

"I sold a few when I left. They weren't too important." The wheel slowed and she returned the knife. Lyla then took one closer to the center and examined it while saying, "This has some magical energy. I can use it for my absorption thingy."

Lyla lumbered to her bed and fell backward onto the mattress. She started playing with the reflection from the light bulb onto the blade.

"What'll I do?" Laura asked.

"What are you able to do?"

A word existed for it, but she didn't know it. It would be difficult to explain. "Basically," She said, "I can read minds."

Lyla snorted and started laughing. Laura let her, knowing how ridiculous it had sounded.


	22. Chapter 22

Laura stared at Lyla from a branch of a tree. Squinting and rubbing her temples didn't help. He focussed on the image of Lyla's brain and wondered what she could be thinking.

She threw chopped logs into the air and punched it with a fist of black flames. The crackling wood propelled into a pile of the previous victims. Maybe she thought of the stench the smoke made or how exhilarated she felt when lighting the wood on fire.

Despite her efforts, Laura's telepathy didn't work. The fight with Cobra must have been a lucky accident. His magic must have done something to her. She didn't fully understand her own.

"Feel like having a meal over a campfire?" Lyla asked from the ground.

Laura looked at the pile of wood Lyla burned. The smell made her nose scrunch.

Lyla shrugged and took out a lacrima. The small crystal had barely any magic trapped inside. She threw it to Laura, who caught it.

"How's your telepathic ability?" Lyla asked as she drowned the fire with a bucket of water.

"Staring won't help. What else am I supposed to do?!"

"Our fight didn't help?"

Laura recalled waking up extremely early to train, "No. Not…" She searched for the right word, "intense enough."

Lyla complimented her on the new word before saying, "Being convinced you're enemy will kill you might help. That fight-or-flight instinct."

Laura shrugged. In the back of her mind, she noted to try reading. Jobs haven't been too busy lately, so maybe she would have time to learn.

She slid off of the branch and landed on her bare feet. The cool dirt brought a feeling of nostalgia. She took her old boots from the ground and slipped them on.

"Tairal should have finished making our clothes. Want lunch afterward?"

Laura nodded. They dropped the bucket off at their house and continued into town. Sorren walked towards them on the dirt road. He wanted someone to shop for groceries with him… And of course, Lyla said, "Sure!"

"No."

Lyla shot her a menacing look. Laura gave in reluctantly, knowing there would be no other outcome.

At least they would pick up their outfits first. Tairal saw them, finished with a customer's purchase, and jogged to the back to return with two outfits each on a clothing hanger. He made another trip to get two pairs of boots. It was obvious which clothes were made for who.

"I'm too broke for dressing rooms, but for you two, I don't mind if you got dressed in the bathroom in the back." Tairal offered. He sounded ashamed. _As the owner, I should have some…_

The fuzzy words echoed in her head. No one had spoken, but she heard it. Like a murmur behind a door.

"I'll go first." Lyla volunteered. She ran to the bathroom for a few minutes. Laura admired the same clothes as their last visit until she returned.

Some minutes passed by when Lyla came out with white thigh-high boots that had metal soles. She wore a grey cloak that stopped at her sides. A silver Fairy Tail emblem rested on her chest to keep the cloak around her shoulders. She wore a tight purple crop top over black spandex with the legs cut off to make shorts.

Laura ran inside next, returning wearing an outfit of black full-suit spandex under light and comfy tunic that hugged her body. It had long sleeves with gold trimming on top. From the bottom of her bust to the ends was cut open so it wouldn't get in the way when she ran. Her white knee-high boots had soles matching the wine red of her dress. The top of the boots had gold coloring.

She kept listening to all of the thought Tairal put into the design of her outfit. The spandex was made with material to keep her warm, yet easy to move in. The soft fabric of her dress appeared delicate, but took no special tricks to wash and could withstand plenty of stress before ripping. When he finished, Tairal walked behind the cash register to be paid.

The girls graciously did so. They said their goodbyes and left to shop for groceries. Sorren said they'd be going to a store another of his brothers worked at. Laura groaned in frustration.

"Come on, you liked Tairal." Lyla reminded her, "You might like Ruka too."

She couldn't run home. Lyla would get upset. So she continued into the market with them. There weren't as many stalls set up as Fantasia, but it still offered the most to customers.

Sorren took them to a large building with colorful signs on the windows. A few customers shopped inside. Shelves of crates stood against the walls and boxes and more crates filled in the floor space. They sold a large variety of colorful fruits and vegetables.

A young woman wearing a green apron welcomed Sorren from the counters opposite the front door. The wall behind her had two round doorways leading to a back room with some storage and a flight of stairs.

He greeted her and asked if someone named Ruka had arrived. She shook her head. The woman had dark skin and brown eyes with short black hair. Laura played with strands of her hair. It should probably be cut soon.

Lyla walked around the store with disinterest. They didn't know what to buy and didn't have a Colander to annoy them. Laura leaned against one of the front windows, watching the people outside. The spot she stood in wouldn't be in the way of others.

Nostalgia crept in. Not the pleasant kind, but not horrible. People walked down the stone roads outside to shop, work, or hang out. She could find so many little moments to jump around the corner and snatch the food from the vendor's hands. Occasionally, she could snatch some money for future use.

A soft, "Shit!" played in her ears. Laura whipped her head to a young man with brown hair tied into a short ponytail. He crawled on the floor to catch the produce he dropped from a large paper bag.

Laura crouched down and helped pick them up.

"Thank you." The flustered man sighed. His heart pounded in his chest and he kept his golden-brown eyes to the floor. He wore the same green apron as the woman. He must be Ruka.

"Sorren…" The woman at the counter sighed.

Ruka took the refilled bag to Sorren and whispered, "Our next bar trip is on you."

Great, they were both drunks.

After paying, the group left and would split ways. Unfortunately, Sorren invited them to come to his Mother's house. Lyla would visit now and then. She would say how good the woman's cooking was and how friendly Sorren's little brother, Uragi, was.

Sorren let himself in through the front door of a two-story house, announcing himself and that he brought a friend. They walked into the living room with a couch and living chair around a fire-place. The walls were covered in family photos and every surface had some trinkets or decorations.

A doorway beside them led into a decently sized kitchen where an older woman with red hair and golden brown eyes cooked over a stove. Steam escaped the giant pot and a sensational scent flooded the first floor. Sorren placed the groceries on a countertop beside her. The woman noticed Lyla and Laura and welcomed them with a smile.

Laura stayed in the corner of the house, not sure how to respond. Lyla smiled back at the woman and plopped on the couch like it was her property.

The girls didn't speak. Laura didn't want to start a conversation. Instead, she returned to the cramped photos. They were hung in no specific order. One had the father cradling a young baby beside three young boys playing in the mud. Above that hung a young man with a younger version of the mother hugging. Based off of the bags in his hand, he was leaving.

There were never more than five boys in a picture. They all had brown hair except for the youngest, who had hair like his mother's. Sorren was the only one in the family with pale blue eyes like his father.

The Colander's house, if Sorren hadn't grown up in it, was the safest place Laura could be in.

_Sorren's back! _A young man's voice echoed in her head. It pulled her from her thoughts. No one responded to the comment. The first person to speak was Lyla.

"What's up, Uragi?" She asked. A man around their age entered the living room from a walkway next to the sidewall of the kitchen. He had red hair and wore a brown vest and pants over a white button-up shirt.

"Hi, Lyla. How're you doing? He said. Uragi passed the couch and to the armchair beside it. He noticed Laura near the front door and his legs buckled.

"Ya doin' hi how?" His young voice cracked as he fell on his next step.

Sorren popped his head through an empty window in the kitchen's sidewall, stifling a laugh. Laura twisted her face. If she could teleport like Lya, she would. And she would pretend as if Uragi had hallucinated her.

Lyla jumped up from her seat and suggested Laura and her return home. Laura quickly hurried out the door with Lyla close behind.

"I'm tired of people. I've had enough!" Laura complained as she stomped ahead.

"What? Uragi's nice. He didn't mean anything."

"I met three Colanders and still stuck with the fourth! I'm done."

"You can't hate Sorren's family just because you hate_ him."_ Lyla said, "Why are you two even like that?

Laura kept her eyes on the ground. Only their footsteps kept complete silence at bay. She watched the stone road turn to dirt and the smell of fresh grass filled her nose. It would be stupid to tell Lyla. She couldn't fully understand why Sorren taking her away from Laura was so infuriating.

_Why can't she tell me? _Lyla said. No not said. Like the previous occurrences, It echoed in Laura's head. Similar to fighting Cobra. Though the words were fuzzy and difficult to register.

Laura looked up and watched Lyla walking beside her. She didn't look back as if she were waiting for an answer. She kept her eyes ahead. It was brilliant!

"Can we keep practicing our abilities?" Laura asked. Now Lyla looked back. Her lips pursed.

"Uh, duh," She said, "You gotta catch up!"

**A/N: **Sorry about the late update. Things have been busy for me and Syaleo. My work opened back up so I've been working a lot and she just moved so it's a bit chaotic for us both. I hope you enjoyed the update though! If you did, please let us know, we love hearing feedback.


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